411A, you are so blinded by your hatred of airline pilots who earn a decent salary I am beginning to suspect you must have a psycho hang up of some sort. Did your wife run off with a pilot or something?
Pilot salaries are high if you are lucky enough to get to the top of the heap. If you are just starting you would be better off at Best Buy pushing stereos. We can argue forever about the responsibilities versus rewards of the job. Just stop being so vitriolic for Heavens sake. It makes your sometimes sensible comments less credible.
What you refuse to consider is the "ticket price" side of the equation when you talk of airline losses. Recently, AMR was selling tickets for 40% of last years prices. Tickets, in adjusted dollar terms, are far cheaper now than they were in 1978. Tell me the name of any other business or industry that has seen the price it charges for its product reduced to such an extent.
No doubt the reduction in salaries will come but this will not save the industry or any individual airline. Only when the airlines start selling tickets at something like the cost of the product will the airline industry turn itself around. Unfortunately, the cost of the product includes various large items such as fuel costs, insurance, various airport and security fees and aircraft financing. Lumping all the blame for the costs on the employees salaries is short sighted and ineffectual and does not reach the roots of the problem. Reducing salaries will perhaps help the airline industry to recover but as long as other costs are out of control only sensible product pricing will ensure survival of the airlines.