You'd be surpised where a degree won't get you these days. If it's a serious degree from a respected redbrick university then it carries some weight, but most run-of-the-mill degrees aren't really worth a lot. Supply and demand, and there's a hell of a lot more graduates being churned out these days.
I've interviewed people with masters degrees who were utterly useless. I've also interviewed people with a handful of average GCSEs but a nice little collection of IT certifications and who could actually do the job.
Whilst I don't fly for a living, I know a lot of people who do and more who work in airline HR etc.. a degree seems to be usually placed somewhere at the bottom of the desirables list, never in the essentials list. Let's face it, ATPL exams are tougher than most of the degrees on the market these days anyway!