"smart choices in companies". I won't give the laundry list of what were once good companies and are now defunct. Many guys/gals whom were quite competitive in experience once worked for said Major airlines. Ask them how they feel about the business model that once was and is now changing at the expense of the profession. I agree with you in part and consider myself an optimist. But, don't bury your head in the sand and act like it is all Pollyanna.