I can see 3 main factors contributing to the pay situation:
Governments pulling out as shareholders: in the good old times, most major airlines were government backed and subsidised. For most airlines, those times are over and they have to operate more or less profitably. Who's salary shall we cut first? Management? Don't think so...
Low cost airlines: if they sell the same amount of seats for less money, they have to save somewhere. Since they are 100% private companies, someone wants to see a profit. Who's salary shall we cut?
Compared to 30 years ago, a much broader spectrum of the population is able to afford to push their sons / daughters through to frozen ATPL with 737 rating. Prices for that are almost comparable to that of studying at university. And you save a lot of time, so the kid will earn money a lot earlier...
And banks grant loans so easily these days. With more and more people becoming pilots, more and more people know someone who has just started to fly and want to do the same.
Since the pilot's job is to about 95% passion driven, the companies can get away with pushing down the conditions & salaries ever further. The MDs and CEOs are in the game for the buck, not because they itch to call 'set max power, please'. In order to get those guys warm and comfy in your company, you have to fork out the appropriate amount of money. If not they go and become MDs of some toothpaste brand...
Unite pilots? It's easier to unite factory workers, since so many of them work together on the same floor, every day. In our office, there are only 2 at a time and one sits right there, where the other one wants to be asap. Prime back stabbing ground.
Last edited by DaFly; 24th Apr 2010 at 22:33.