kiwiblue
As you point out there are many threads currently running, and in the past, which have looked at this issue.
Rather than recapitulate what has been said there (many which you have identified) I think the single most important thing that could be done to make GA work properly is for nearly every owner/manager to undergo some form of business training. Only then will they see that the business practices they currently use are worse than useless and can only have one result, failure.
GA is the most dysfunctional industry I have ever come across and its mostly because owner/pilots are looking for someone to support their addiction. Hence the discounting, the lack of proper pricing and the abusive work practices.
The recent upsurge in pilot requirements by the airlines will have an effect on GA (see the excellent article in Australian Financial Review 20/07/07 on the introduction of regional jets and especially the sidebar piece on pilot numbers) which will put a lot of operators under stress. Only the better ones will survive the next few years and then only if they are very very smart.
