Tristar, I agree completely, it does look like a greyhound bus station. It used to be that if you can afford to fly, you would fly. It was almost as if you increased your status in the society by flying. And if you couldnt afford to fly, you took the bus or train across the country. but those times are over, and we all know it.
And yeah, I remember that people used to get dressed when they flew. I might be young but my parents had me dressed up when I was younger when I had to fly cross Atlantic. But maybe that's because my parents made me do it
Not to digress too much, I flew on Jet Blue from Florida to NYC about a year ago, and a guy sitting next to me had the testicles (ahem) to take his shoes off and just sit there, stinking up the plane, I mean, comon, really? where are the manners?

I might of missed the fact that the government doesnt care, and sure there are bigger problems and issues that the government is facing right now. But it's not like this would be something the government has to pay. It is a service fee that has to be implemented to each ticket. simple as that. and it's completely not like your baggage fee or the new ryan air toilet fee (that's just, funny, heh) anyway, it's more like a tax, mandated by all 121 carriers, so that all ticket prices go up the same amount, for all airlines, not just delta, or american.

And for those of you guys commuting, paying 5 dollars to fly from chicago to NYC, for example, would be all that much? I mean it costs 2 dollars to travel on the subway in NYC. 5 dollars to fly anywhere to me isn't that much, to help and support your fellow pilots.
Am I that crazy to actually see this work? Heck, if ryan air can charge for their use of a toilet, a simple fee to increase pilot's pay, I feel would be more rational. Besides, from what I've seen, most regional pilots complain because of the low pay and long days. Don't you think that over time it would maybe make the pilot's feel a little bit better coming to work, knowing you're getting paid a little bit more for your work?

The crew who landed in the hudson did a great job with bringing the reality of pilot's lives to the public, but still, when someone asks me how much a starting regional airline pilot makes, I respond by saying mid 20K per year, which is about right. Then I get called a liar and get cursed out sometimes, so yea, perhaps it's time the public was made aware of this because it seems unreal to me that the public is doesnt want to believe me (and im pretty sure most of you guys have similar experiences with this). Or perhaps they dont care as long as the ticket prices get cheaper so they can fly a thousand miles on a nice jet for as little as possible.