I just discovered this thread and have found it very interesting. Rotorhead's post was spot-on.

This profession is not what it was even five years ago. So some obvious questions are: Will it come back? If so, how long until it does?

From my viewpoint, I don't think it will ever be as good as it was, and though I think it will get a bit better, I don't think that will be very soon.

Though I sincerely enjoy flying, if I had my life to live over again I would not pursue a career in aviation. For reference, I'm 50, spent 8 1/2 years in the USAF and the last 15+ at Delta.

What attracted many of us to this profession is the lifestyle; income, security, days off, travel benefits, etc, etc. Every single category in that list has taken a major hit. What's scary is that many of today's "best and brightest" young people will look elsewhere for a career.

A few years ago I was in a hotel van and overheard a conversation between an Airtran captain and a United F/A. The Airtran captain told her that he would be going to his tenth High School reunion in a few months, and his classmates would be amazed that here he was an airline captain, and he had been voted "Most likely to work in a gas station".

I was shocked. So that's the caliber of individual that this industry (or at least Airtran) now attracts.

When I interviewed at American I was pretty cocky. I thought "Gee, you're a smart guy in great health with excellent flying skills. They'll hire you in a second." Well, as I met the other guys interviewing, I wasn't so confident. One guy was from the 89th Military Airlift Wing and flew very high level dignitaries, another was a USAF Test Pilot, another was a Blue Angel. All of a sudden I'm average at best.

I would be very surprised indeed if any American, Delta, Northwest or Southwest pilot was voted "Most likely to work in a gas station".