Originally Posted by DAL 88 Driver

I think (well, I'm going to assume anyway) that you're misunderstanding me. I am not saying that a 777 Captain is suddenly dangerous because he's not being paid enough. I am saying that making our profession worth HALF of what it has traditionally been worth will result (probably is already resulting) in lower quality, less capable individuals getting into the profession. The implications for safety with that seem obvious to me. And I think those implications are obvious to most people who think about it objectively. (The news media sure seemed to "get it" for a while as they reported on the Colgan accident.) It hasn't trickled up to the level of a Delta Air Lines yet. But, if not corrected, it ultimately will become a safety issue throughout the industry at some point as we all have to retire and are eventually replaced by lower quality pilots.