Not in the least Orwellian, Guv - I've known some real P'sITA of flight crew, and I've known some excellent managers.
The trouble is that there are (at least outside BA
) far fewer management than crews, and it doesn't take many bad apples to sour the whole barrel. In even a medium-sized airline, two idiots "upstairs" making idiotic decisions, developing sloping-shoulder syndrome and covering their backsides can create a really bad atmosphere, particularly if the remaining members of management don't want to tackle the problem head-on.
Another aspect is that management have the whip hand. Most flight crew are considered "junior" to "management", and aren't seen as what they are - the people who have the most direct input to how well the company performs. If some are seen as "troublemakers", then ousting them or making their lives miserable is very easily done, and they generally have no reply available to them.
Next problem is that most managers are not pilots, and simply don't understand many of the safety implications of flying an aircraft. They think that, if the book says so much fuel is required, for a pilot to take more is simply wasting their money. Furthermore, management will not be in the air, up front when it all goes pear-shaped. Pilots are, and therefore, having a generally fairly well-developed sense of self-preservation, like to feel safe. Most that I have worked with over my career in aviation also appreciate that, if they waste money, it comes out of their paypacket at the end of the month. I'll do all I can to help the company be in a position to give me a nice, fat bonus at Christmas. But I won't ever do that at the expense of safety. One or two managers have tried to persuade me (by fair means
and foul) to do so. I'm a rather stroppier so-and-so than many pilots, and have reported them ALL to the CAA for doing so. However, other pilots wouldn't, and therefore are pressured into reducing safety margins.
CRM is required throughout an airline, not just on board the aircraft.
I fully agree that trust is required on both sides. Unfortunately, that is a very rare commodity. You see that very often in the attitude of the more reactionary companies to unions.
Guv, in conversation you and I have thrown a few names around who should not be let out of the playpen any time aviation is involved... they are the sort of managers I am talking about.