Have to say although 9/11 was a big nail in the coffin of the job the rot started to set in early 90's during/post the Gulf War...the 'new' contracts with much lower money, loss of acceptable quality of life and general job instability set in...it is very true that this general malaise has also affected many occupations particularly in the UK however there is little doubt I would have been financially/socially better off being a solicitor or an accountant for example (and without the £45K bill)
At £50K-£60K the current Captains' salaries equates (acceptably IMO) with an average senior accountant, solicitor, company MD etc. but obviously conditions and hours of working are very different...although that does not justify double that figure or more...
My own preference if I were still a pilot would be reduced workload for the same money and not increased money to continue existing workload...this would also be my management preference to implement as it is arguably the easiest to sustain and squeeze out of the budget...a few more thousand per pilot head spent on additional crews makes a big difference operationally at minimal cost burden
Overall I would say the job with all its' antisocial aspects is not worth the remuneration in the UK, however the current airline business models dont support a higher figure, Catch 22...and not a good investment for a self-sponsor
I did 2 years as an instructor and 5 years flying and walked away looking for a new career direction, job satisfaction and a return of my quality of life...and rather ironically ended up back in airline management
