Whatsalizad?
Continental. Interesting subject.
Many will tell you that Frank Lorenzo "done 'em in". The real reason is that Contineltal at the time was the weakest trunk carrier, and simply could not compete with UAL at DEN and ORD.
UAL could set the fares low enough (much like AA vs Braniff at DFW), and afford to operate at a loss for as long as it took.
Continental went downhill very rapidly after loosing Robert Six.
Now we are looking at a complete turnabout...Continental doing so-so and UAL against the wall.
Serves 'em right. What goes around, comes 'around.
Market rate, also an interesting subject.
Lets face facts. Some folks just like to fly aeroplanes, and pilots just starting out will work for less simply because they enjoy the work, not just because they want to move on to the majors and higher salaries.
Of course they want more cash (and larger, faster equipment), but as long as that supply is there, salaries at the regionals will NOT move all that much higher. And the supply will NOT diminish anytime soon, inspite of what some may wish.
One could just as easily argue that it is the major airline salaries that are "out of line".
