I heard that one of the sticking points with the pilot union is they refused to budge on their contractual limit of 65 flying hours per month. You will never make money with that sort of attitude.
I never cease to be amazed by how effective airlines' management's media war against us (pilots) is... in the public mind, we are the cause of all Alitalia's (but feel free to stick in any other airline's name) woes. Fickle public opinion, a bit of envy and a hefty dash of ignorance about our real lifestyles and pay do the rest. Even many colleagues (fellow pilots) like AH and A/I have fallen for the official line!
Do you really believe the blame for a lost war can be placed on the soldiers?
I am not an AZ pilot any longer but having been one for a number of years I may as well try to dispel a few myths for you... medium-haul AZ pilots are "limited" to 85 block hours a month (past which they go into overtime and start getting extra money) while for long-haul it's 90 block hours... and all this for (substantially) less money than their LH, AF-KL or IB peers...
Sorry to dash your cherished notions. Mind you it's futile; by now the lie has been repeated so often it has become the truth!
Good luck to our AZ colleaugues.
