Jabiman;
Appropriately quoted. Of course, Captain Sullenberger's appearance before Congress is the quintessential statement on the industry as it stands today.
For others reading or contributing, in my view it is a fundamental mistake in this argument of pay-vs-skill to make a direct connection between how much a pilot is paid and the quality of decision-making s/he makes on a daily operational basis. I have argued for at least a decade within my own former airline and elsewhere that that is not where the problem lies. Pilots, once in the cockpit will do their absolute level best even if they are paying their employer to fly their airplanes simply because it is good survival strategy if nothing else. One does not make "better" decisions because one has a higher paycheck coming in at the end of the month. However, there is indeed a strong connection, but it is not at this level and you have quoted the finest example of this argument.
Sully has argued the case for change and enhancement of the profession of "airline pilot" more clearly, succinctly and successfully than anyone when he says in his brilliant statement that the best and brightest will not come to the profession under the present atrocious working and pay conditions. What has happened to our profession under the guise of "helping the employer" is nothing less than a desecration of this profession at the hands of marketing theorists, newbie MBAs and the daily bean-counting middle managers who know nothing about aviation but know about pressure from above to control costs at all cost.
Such fine-tuning of what is an enormously capital-intensive business can be done, but unless done intelligently with data and honest feedback instead of meetings and bureacratic structures which silo and otherwise kill efficiency and which drive and sustain the illusion of success, the results will turn out just as we see them today - a cheapened, marginalized profession which is not the least bit attractive to the keen and talented young people we need to fill our retiring ranks.
The "best and brightest" have taken a look at "professional airline pilot" and said, "I don't think so...", and have taken their intelligence, talent, discipline and desire for a good living elsewhere. Airline managments have not yet heard the news, and the MCPL is filling the holes with "98.6F" in the right seat but not much else. The Royal Aeronautical Society does not take causes on lightly, but they have this one. The technique of ticking the box has extended right into the human component in the cockpit and the incident and accident trends are now reflecting that thinking.
As for the thread itself, it is a worthwhile discussion but perhaps would have been a better reflection on our profession for some to have retained the dignity of respectful, non-personal discussion in the thread, but there it is - it is an emotional issue for all and passions run deep, which is a sign of how seriously we all take what has occurred to our profession at the hands of those who don't know aviation, and don't know that they don't know.
Last edited by PJ2; 3rd Jan 2011 at 17:22.