Originally Posted by
B317
"but the supply and demand ratios during the 60's,70's, and 80's was even worst that it is now but the salaries saw some of the biggest gains, Why?"
That's because the airlines were regulated then, there was no real free market. The government decided routes and fares. When ALPA got a new contract the government approved higher fares to cover it. Carter signed the deregulation act in 1978, however, the effects weren't felt in force until the early and mid 80's. ie Continental, Eastern etc...
The only reason Virgin or any other airline can pay what they pay is there are pilots that will accept those wages. We live in a free country and hopefully still a free market, and even with the chaos that sometimes brings I would have it no other way.
Thank you for the unnecessary history lesson since I was working for the airlines back in those days, where you? at $100/h VA pilots are making less than what LAN Peru (a lesser paid subsidiary of LAN Chile) pay their a320 captains (if you count the fact that their company pay for their taxes) "free market" and "supply and demand" doesn't answer why we in the US are accepting salary rates lower than what an airline in a third world country is paying their pilots.