AA pay raise
No one more than I would like to see them win this issue. They make a very valid point re the state of the industry over the past decade. However, AA might be making a profit but the fact is that fuel prices are something even the traveling public can understand. They see it every day at the pumps and on the news. Hence the airlines have passed on most, all, or in some cases more than, the actual cost to the traveling public in "fuel surcharges" on the airfaires. I doubt very much this same understanding public would swallow a "Pilot Pay Raise" surcharge on airfares; especially after the airline makes thier pay increase public in media. The cost per seat mile is a valid argument and in a perfect world should be sufficient grounds to justify the raise. I imagine the seat mile cost savings gained with the concessions were similar and thus justified to ensure survival. Should works both ways.
We suffer from the misguided stereotyping that all pilots are financially solvent and fly for the love of it. As for the traveling public, they will waste no time is pointing out just where we can find sympathy in the dictionary.