Is it time to be afraid????
As a frequent slf I have an new unexplained uneasy feeling when I board a plane. I cannot help but worry about the state of the airline industry and the probable lowering of staff T&C's and moral. It has always been a belief of mine that airline pilots (and other aviation staff) are well trained, well adjusted and well paid ;and so they should be. However, the drive to cut costs in aviation has become such an obsession that there is no doubt in my mind that safety has (or will) be compromised. It's one thing for me ( a lab analyst) to be pissed off due to wage cuts but it's another thing completely when the drivers of a 747 spend most of their day complaining about the state of their jobs. I can't help but wonder why 3 pilots failed to look out the window on approach in the Netherlands last week.The whole thing just beggers belief really. Even as a frequent flyer I get a rise in adrenaline as we approach a runway treshold. I always presumed the man/woman in the driving seat would also be a bit more alert at this time, no matter how many times they have done it before. From what I read on this site automation is so advanced that (some) pilots almost totally rely on it. I can speak from experience when I say a person that relies on automation can become even more reliant on it when he would rather be at home than at his desk.
Is it time to develop a fear of flying, I wonder??
P.S Yes I am willing to pay more for my ticket in return for an "easy feeling".