Actually I hold no anger inside. As Marilyn Monroe once said...."Those who know me better, know better".
I wish all pilots were united, in one responsible, strong, well-funded and respected union, with pilot councils for each group, and that all pilots were paid according to a pleasant negotiated blend of the financial capabilities of their outfit and their qualifications and experience. I wish that management would see that the overall cost of doing something properly usually is less than doing it poorly. I wish that blind ideology had no place in boardrooms or executive suites and that the true cost of executing that ideology could be identified and those reponsible held accountable. I wish that years ago or even recently, Qantas had ordered about 30 777s and had a cost structure in place that enabled profitable growth at all ends of the market. I wish that the pay differential between the most junior cabin crew and the CEO was no more than a factor of about 15 and that bonuses were paid in post-dated shares only and then only on the basis of "real" long term performance.I wish that outsourcing was regarded as a necessary evil to be used sparingly rather than a shrine to be worshipped. I wish that the executive committee of major airlines had at least a third of their membership from people who actually had ramp, galley, hangar or cockpit dirt under their fingernails. I wish that all cadets were highly motivated, paid an allowance and received first class training, not just the minimum as part of a cost cutting scheme. I wish that pilots stuck in group subsidiaries who are good enough to wear the same uniform as mainline brethren simply got the chance to show in the simulator and line training whether they could meet the standard on bigger types, not be stuck by some rigid mix of "divide and conquer" and an implied belief that only certain people are "good enough" to fly big jets. I wish that it could be understood that asking a young pilot to refuse to fly a 330 in one part of the group while the same pilot is denied the chance to fly the 330 by recruitment policies in another part of the group is nonsensical. I wish the public could be made to see that $39 airfares are not sustainable and that when they are offered, as seat fillers, then there really will be "no frills". I wish that all pilots could see that a lot has changed since deregulation was announced in 1987 and that some realities such as LCCs are simply evolutionary and capable of being implemented properly and dynamically, not necessarily evil per se.
I am in the latter chapters of a happy and challenging career, with few regrets and certainly none I blame others for. I bear no grudge even for the scores and scores and scores of pilots who crossed picket lines in '89 and did the industry such damage. I prefer to be surrounded by those who stood firm that's all. I have not had the chance to check inside but hope and pray that my heart is neither little nor black.
To those who prefer to cling to the past, and shrink from the use of unity and strength by those in a position to do so....I do not apologize for asking you to do more.
I am neither a victim, nor bitter. My track record of doing my best for the industry in Australia and abroad is at least average and I hope better.
If you do care to understand how someone can be constructively critical yet stand tall I call to your attention William Henley who well described my outlook on life......
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
And on that note Genex leaves Prune. Build your new world with strength, vision, unity and hope....or have others do it for you on their terms. Your choice. Good luck.
Last edited by genex; 24th Feb 2011 at 02:50.