SBA:
I congratulate you on your very eloquent posting and I agree with just about everything you say. It is a sad fact that a lot of folks in our profession are still living in cloud-cuckoo land.
You are quite right about about the ex-SABENA situation. I am told by pilots who live in Belgium that "hundreds" of ex-SABENA pilots are still looking for work. Some of them have gone down to the Congo to take up the prestige jobs that are on offer there.
Furthermore, I had a conversation with a friend who was recently in a position to hire some pilots and he told me that he would not consider hiring ex-SABENA pilots for at least another 18 months for they have to learn how to be hungry first!
All things being considered, I think I could live with a 1.5 litre water allowance.