OK, this may be a little cold, but all this hindsight concern for no life insurance benefits sounds too contrived. Lots of pilots here work as self-employed contractors, or they work for a variety of operators, most of which pay well for work done, and don't pay anything when the collective isn't off the stop. If a pilot is concerned about the welfare of his family should he depart, he takes out his own life insurance policy, if he's concerned about health, his own health insurance, etc, etc, etc. If he wants to roll the dice for himself and his family, he can just stuff the whole pay envelope into his pocket, where he also keeps his good luck charms.
Its a free world, as pilots seeking employment you can choose where you work and match the benefits to your tolerance for risk. Or pay for your own peace of mind, or not. Why wait until a tragedy occurs, then lament the lack of benefits that everyone already knew was not there when they went in?
Benefits cost money, either to the employee to cover himself, or to the employer to provide. What if Aerogulf gave everyone the shopping cart option on benefits, and then the pilots could chose to trade earnings for different benefit levels. How would that be any different than the situation now?
Last edited by malabo; 1st Oct 2008 at 05:59.