Nice post DA50driver, but I think it's wrong to blame 300 hrs pilots willing to fly for food for worsening of T&Cs. There were always kids willing to do that but they were not allowed to. Even if they wanted to fly for dimes, they were forced to accept nice paycheck. It was not the fault of the unions, but ye olde style management had a notion that pay should be related to value of the work. Nowadays pay is just the lowest ammount MGT can negotiate with pilot union and it's the cultural thing, we're not the only ones affected by this principle but it hits everyone, from lumberjacks to astrophysicists. Face it - people who work for wage instead of working for bonus are second class citizens, no matter how complex or demanding or interesting their work is.