I should have made my point clear - if you want a long-term future your company needs to be making money. That has not being the case for most of the airline industry for years and the chickens have come home to roost. Southwest has always made money and the pilots and all the staff are reaping the benefits. Ironic as they were looked down on as a group by a lot of the legacy pilots.
The lack of pensions has become a general trend in the US - the long-term implications are not good for anyone. My IR examiner was headed back to work at the FAA as his US Air pension was getting wiped out. He is an outstanding guy and I really feel for him.
However as a group I think pilots swallowed too much of their own
PR. I used to shake my head when I read the various pilot group newsletters etc. Rick "Mad Dog" Dubinsky was not unique in his attitude. Many seemed to share it.
Unfortunately the industry really seems to suffer from useless management. I think mentally they simply cannot break away from being a regulated industry. The real success of Southwest has being decent management. They service a niche – don’t suffer from delusions of grandeur and stick to the bottom line. Decisions get made strictly on the basis of will this make us money. They run an airborne Greyhound service and have no problems with it. JetBlue has a different image but I think they are crafting a great identity and developing a real following.
I really cannot understand how the industry can continue to loose money like it does and yet seems to be unable to fix itself.