Originally Posted by
satchip
All right, I'm going to say something controversial now. Big shock, huh?
Restoration is a pipe dream. The world has changed, the market has changed, our profession has changed. To constantly look to the past and yearn for what was and will never be again is a pipe dream.
We must look forward and attain the highest compensation for our times, not some golden age. Our labor market is subject to many forces and laws that have radically changed since when most of you started this job. It is not 1980, or 1988, or 1992, or 2000 for that matter. It is 2010 and we have a completely different set of conditions that define what level of compensation we are able to achieve.
Put away the pitch forks, i'm not talking about acquiescing at our current level. We can make significant gains and set a new standard for OUR times. First we must understand the things Alfa posed. Then we have to break the shackles of the past and stop judging our success by comparing to the past. We can't turn back the clock.
I'm sure this is no surprise, but I could not disagree with you more. You obviously have bought into the idea that pilot costs are a make or break thing to an airline. I don't believe they are. How much of the price of a typical airline ticket is attributable to pilot costs? I'll bet it's not a whole lot more than the fancy cup of coffee many people buy in the terminal before they get on their flight.
I don't spend a lot of time on this board. Maybe the predominant thinking here is like yours. But I'm not ready to give up. And it has been rare that I have flown with or known another pilot who is. I haven't forgotten how hard we all had to work to achieve success in this profession. I haven't forgotten all the sacrifices we and our families made along the way. I think the value of this profession that had been established for decades is absolutely appropriate for the level of expertise, aptitude, experience, professionalism, career risk, and responsibility we have. I think we have been sold a bill of goods and, as evidenced by your post, some of us have bought into it. Bottom line, I want people representing me who have not given up on the historical, long established value of this profession.