For the sake of a balanced debate there are a few plus points. Actual hours flown have reduced again recently, at least for some, since the new regulations were introduced.
The market for pilots has also expanded in such a way that a lot more people have the opportunity to fly for an airline and indeed BA than was the case back in the good old days. A lot of the jobs get you home every evening e.g. Ryanair and Easyjet.
Whilst we would all like to have enjoyed the kind of career CkocksAwayUK's dad had, the fact is that timing is everything in life. Those that joined at the right time had a great career.
Friends of mine at BA who started around ten years later ended up waiting over 20 years to get a short haul command and were not uniformly happy. They were the lucky ones, as there was almost no hiring after them for a very long time. Stories abound about being on nearly permanent standby and getting called morning after morning for the early Paris.
Everything is not perfect these days. But time to upgrade has improved. A huge number of jobs have been created and pay, at least for captains, is not bad. A lot of us are doing something we love.
Average pay and conditions have declined over the period discussed. But overall a lot more people are making a good living as a pilot (if not quite as good as the lucky few). It could also be argued that there is not a lot of leeway for things to get a lot worse. However job security remains a big issue.
Last edited by lederhosen; 31st Oct 2008 at 08:55.