I remember sitting in a charter jet,hold point at LHR, when a mighty GF VC10 greased, turned off and headed for the gates. My skipper said to me "THAT is THE Airline to try to get into" ! No longer, and what a tradgedy.
You are comparing the modern airline industry to the industry as it looked in the late 1970's?
- Fair enough. The airline I grew up wanting to fly for does exist anymore (hasn't in about 2 decades).
- I dreamed of flying a Boeing 727 or a 747. If this were to happen now, I know I would be pretty down on my career fortune (cause it would probably be at night cargo operations out of sub-Saharan Africa)
- Lufthansa pilots complain that things aren't what they used to be like
- Cathay Pacific pilots complain that they are on the "B" scale or "C" scale
- Former Pan Am employees' eyes glaze over when they speak of the memory of their airline
- US airline pilots speak about the rape & pillage of their pension plans
- Other state-owned airline employees tell delightful tales of 7 day lay-overs in Tokyo, Sydney, Rome or Curacao years ago while the stews fought over which pilot they get to sleep with.
- An old Aer Lingus Captain muses during his retirement party that, back when he started in aviation, sex was safe and flying was dangerous.
- Kids who dreamed of flying a Jumbo Jet or the Concorde for British Airways are applying to Ryanair or Easy Jet.
"Caveat Emptor" warnings abound on this Forum, as well as others, about the risks of joining Royal Brunei, Singapore Airlines, Emirates or Qatar Airways. Even the corporate world does not necessarily imply that you are on the golf course in Hawaii for 14 days while the boss is on his yacht or deep-sea fishing.