Gentlemen and gentle women
I've always found the degree of happiness at work varies due to a multitude of factors outside the immediate control of the company.
Like many guys, I'm a bit of a techie and like playing with machines and electronic toys and enjoy the 'Atari game' aspect of flying the 'plane. Link that to a penchant for travel, water sports (no, Smithers, not THAT sort!), skiing, pubbing and partying and aircrew (in the RAF sense meaning everyone on the aircraft) becomes a happy choice of career.
Happy all the time? No, of course not, but enough.
Happy bits:
Being the captain.
Decent layover at agreeable port with agreeable crew.
Airline keeps interference to a minimum but keeps aeroplanes fixed.
Supportive chief pilot.
Flt Ops which understands the problem.
Real trainers.
Oh yes, loadsa dosh (in your dreams, Basil).
Unhappy bits:
Being the FO with macho captain, boy captain etc etc.
Cabin chief who pisses off the crew.
Airline with interfering, 'blame culture' ethos.
Airline which doesn't like fixing aircraft.
Underconfident chief pilot.
'Is my face bovvered?' Flt Ops (Thankfully infrequent)
Checkers and choppers (although they DO concentrate the mind).
Assessment of airlines?
I'd hesitate to make any specific adverse comment in public although I can safely say that the two best companies I have worked for were IBM (not as pilot) and BA which I left eleven years ago.
Other airlines were Gulf Air, Caledonian (as the BA charter subsidiary previously BEA Tours Sp? and British Airtours - regrettably not B Cal which I understand was an excellent employer), Cathay, and EAAC.
Some, not necessarily those mentioned, had an unfortunate attitude to employees or a company and training ethos which left a little to be desired, others were a bit unwilling to spend money on spares.
One could go on and on but sorry for being unable to provide a preference list - could be a bit actionable
