I get what you’re saying Snake but his lack of any meaningful professional experience in what he claims loudly to be an expert on is kinda the point.
How do you reckon Doctors would go having a hospital orderly holding themselves up as, and commenting in the media as, a medical expert?
Lawyers with a law firm secretary?
Real Estate agents with some bloke who’s owned a house?
Mechanical engineers because they own a spanner?
’Journalists’ because you read a book on how to lie.
Really though, it’s our own fault. Can you imagine the AMA allowing a hospital orderly to comment on, let alone be touted as an expert in ANY medical matter for example?
That’s what GT does, and that’s what this industry allows him to do.
Very true. The problem in aviation is that Pilot's have no influence in the industry, it has been hijacked by the regulator and large corporations. Basically a power vacuum has occurred and the void is filled by people who will do the bidding of the the corporations or the regulator with no real understanding of the industry. The difference with medicine is that essentially it is controlled completely by the AMA and the college of surgeons who also have representation in both the Liberal and Labor Parties, both of whom won't have the courage to stand up to them. If a corporate mouth pipes up in the media they can be shot down pretty quickly by the AMA who can then run their agenda. However in Australia any so called aviation expert can get free reign in the press presenting bogus or biased reporting as noone will challenge it. I would also imagine there is a fair bit of collusion and quid pro quo between the media and airlines about anything aviation related. I would guess that Mr Thomas would be on a very leash about what he can and can't say.
For example you will never hear him pipe up about RPT ops into CTAFS as the airlines don't won't someone pubically discussing an increase in the cost of operating.