OzDude--
Wrong again, old chap. Middle tier manager, you say? Try Chief Operating Officer with 35% ownership of the company. And this after 35 years line flying, and still line flying. We are a very small company and will stay that way by choice rather than by chance. The profit picture at airlines can be very deceiving in good years, pilots look at the bottom line and say....."where's my cut?". Ever hear of "retained earnings" to cover unexpected business downturns?
I wonder if in the very lean years these pilots would also like to "contribute" to the bottom line so as to enable the company to keep trading. Aircraft lease payments (to name just one item) suddenly do NOT stop simply because they sit idle on the tarmac.
Delta pilots a few years ago agreed to accept less during the recession of '91-92 and today find that that are rewarded with the best contract in the industry. Co-operate and graduate or, find yourselves out in the street like the Atlas guys, or for that matter, the OZ guys in '89.