I think you can describe a professional as a person who defends thier profession from constant degradation. Bus drivers used to wear thier hats and have nicely pressed uniforms with ties...not any more. Thay also used to be able to survive as a single source of income for a whole family. They also used to have more respectable work rules and gain more respect from the people they were driving around. But the reason they are less professional is not because they started dressing worse, its because they didn't protect thier profession (or maybe it would have been impossible). You also have to remember that they types of people who ride the bus have also changed dramatically during that period of time. The parallels are pretty scary if you ask me.

You think the way you dress and act (what some are calling professionalism) is related to saftey? Think again. Safety comes from the instinct of self-preservation as well as a fear of FAA action. The company doesn't have to do much to promote safety, in fact, most of the time they are pushing pilots to a more unsafe outcome.

You guys who are lushing over a pressed uniform, unrelenting hard-working attitude at all costs are making my pilot group (9E) sound like the most professional group in the industry. Sure, any other group in contract negotiations (for five years) would absolutuly not have the second best on time performance, again, last quarter. Be we are also the pilots that most of you probably look down your nose at, the gulfstreamers, Jet-u, and 300 hour wonders (all are generalizations of course).

I would be much more happy at an airline with a professional culture from the top down, and a pilot group that would rather make a stand to management instead of rewarding them for dragging their feet. Our current 5 year agreement was signed in May 1999, we sure are some professionals.