I agree wit Bigmouth, if your at the top and can afford to retire, there is no time like the present. I still have 20 years to go and have quite a few commitments that I would like to see through. I dont think Pilots are overpaid, I don't think were underpaid either, and Alpa/Balpa don't always do whats best for all. I think the employers should expect to get a fair days work out of a pilot for a fair days pay, there are a quite a few pilots around that expect a cushy life style and not have to work too hard for it. Where four crews per acft should be sufficient airlines have to hire 5 or 6 to get the same job done, thats what costs. Don't Know about the US but in merry old England it seems that most of the costs of employing someone don't come from the wages that they are paid but go to the government in taxes. Executives get paid far too much, but then again there life expectancy (employment wise) can be quite short. Though it never fails to amaze that some who can completly F*&k a company up one day can wlk into another executive position the next. The worst thing that ever happened to industry on a whole was that the bean counters got hold of them and would spend Pounds to save pence. To help things it would be better for the govt to make it more expensive to lay someone of than it is to hire them.
To get back to the thread I certainly hope UAL make it adn they certainly aren't too big to go down. Pan Am were retty big at one stage and it didn't save them.
Hang on were in for a bumpy ride.
Where in Afghanistan would like this 747 parked.