Originally Posted by
jelloy683
It seems like the rest of the world treats airline pilots right...however here in the US they're treated like a truck/bus drivers (no offense). Almost every other country pays their pilots well, gives them good work rules, and treates them right. I just understand why the US airlines cant do the same...Are there simply too many pilots here???? Plus you dont hear about too many foreign airlines going out of business or furloughing hundreds of pilots...why is it only happening here????
And in return they have to deal with the complicated licensing process, in which airlines will often then want them to go through a complex "cadet" program that can cost about twice what it costs to get ratings in the US--the same country where it doesn't matter where you can get hired regardless if you got your hours in the military or at Billy Bob's Flying School. Not to mention that the airline structure in many European countries is generally a large national carrier with a handful of smaller low-fare or regional carriers (the UK is probably the exception, as they have many charter carriers as well). It's a lot easier for your airline to stay afloat when the governments are propping up the national carriers. Of course, this isn't always failsafe--just ask the people who used to work for SABENA or Swissair.