The industry is as vibrant as it is today simply because everyone can afford to fly. Why can they afford to fly? Because of the LCC"s. If we go back to captains on 300K or whatever and f/o's on half that then that will simply increase the cost of flying and exclude a certain sector of society from flying. The contraction of our industry will start and the rot will set in. There can be no going back.
Lets imagine that TT actually fails in Australia. Does anybody actually think that JQ and
VB would increase capacity to take up the slack? NO WAY. They will simply up the ticket price and increase yield. The result is a contraction in employment for pilots by 100 or so A320 guy's. Those jobs would be gone and not coming back. This said Tiger actually plays a very important part in the airline scene here.
Most gee-wiz boys and girls get into this profession to fly a jet, anything less will not do. It wouldn't matter how much you paid them to fly scenic's around a rock they still want to fly the jet and if that does not happen they will find some other way to make money. Of course they will winge later in life that the bus driver earns the same or thereabouts without the hassles, but the money doesn't matter that much until you get a bit older, settle down and realise how hard it is to get ahead in life.
Sometimes I think about if I would be happy to pay out 35K for an endo to go fly for an airline. The only thing that stops me is that when you add that to the 75K its cost me to get where I am you are very close to a full fee paying med student's costs and they will eventually earn a whole lot more than any pilot anywhere.
SN