DingerX,
Can I just butt in and say that I'm sick of the argument that "Safety in back is the fault of the meat in back that wants to pay so little?" If nothing else changed but that the tickets cost ten times as much, we'd still have the same problem.
Yes you are right, we would have the same problem. However I do believe that this is the basic underlying problem that has led us to the current situation. The LCC's told the public they could fly for less -
much less & they bought it. Basic human nature. Pilots rushed to these new airlines as it was finally their chance to get into jets, as recruitment in the 'legacy' carriers was just a dribble. They thought that pay would improve as the new airlines became established. They were wrong! The public thought that they would continue to have a choice - higher priced airlines with all the service perks or the lower cost airlines where they gave up the service for a lower price. They were also wrong! The choice has almost ceased to exist as the 'legacy' carriers drive down cost in an effort to compete with LCC's & maintain market share. (Market share is everything to airline management). Service is starting to suffer.
Now that we are in this position, simply putting fares back up will not change anything as the airlines would simply say "thank you very much" & pocket the extra profit. As in most things in life, it will be quite difficult to restore what has been carelessly given away.
In every civilized country, an airline ticket is issued guaranteeing transport to a minimum standard of safety, that the government ensures through regulation. In most places, the suits and marketing types get angry if one airline advertises its superior safety: safety is something that is supposed to be equal across airlines.
To be blunt, this only exists in an ideal world. It is a myth that the travelling public foolishly believe when they rush to purchase their super cheap tickets. As they say, perception is everything! Governments are only interested in keeping the vested interest groups from clamouring too loud & business is a very vocal vested interest group across all industries. Also, regulation is simply a compromise between the desired outcome & the cost to achieve it. And to have any chance of working it requires adequate enforcement, something that most, if not all, regulators struggle with. Add to that mix, the issue of some airlines having considerable influence over their regulator in certain corners of the world & you have, at best, doubtful government assured minimum standards of safety.
The final resposibility for safety in the air rests with pilots, despite what the regulators & airline management would have the travelling public believe. The pilots who have perished, along with their passengers, in recent years didn't want to die. They were doing the best they could with their natural ability, the training they had been given & possibly the fatigue they were fighting on the day. The events that they were required to deal with were just too much for them, given their ability, training & fatigue levels.
In order for the safety standards to remain as high as possible, pilots need to be properly trained & that requires time & money, which relates directly to ticket prices. You also need to attract the best possible people to the profession & that requires adequate renumeration & decent rostering to provide lifestyle & fight fatigue. That also relates directly to ticket prices. However, I don't believe that the relationship between these costs & ticket prices is as significant as has been suggested by some here or by airline management.
The public needs to be informed of the cost vs safety issue in a clear & unemotional way. Then they can realisticly decide what level of safety they are willing to pay for. The governments won't be doing this any time soon & neither will the airlines. Perhaps it is time that airline pilots all over the world stop stepping on each other to get ahead & finally come together with a united voice to get the message across.