Yeah I don't buy the reasoning. Do you want to be a pilot or not? Who does a degree for their career with the idea of then doing another degree in another area just incase the first career falls over? Wouldn't you just do the degree in the other area first?
The second degree won't be on hecs either. Upfront full fees!
By the time you get to an airline you might just find that you've got very little time available and steam left. I have an extremely intelligent friend that has had things go wrong. Cap and Jacket with 150k+ one day unemployed the next. He is exactly the scenario you talk of. He has a Bavn. I asked him if he was going to go back and do another degree to enter another profession. His reply "I'm spent mate". "I couldn't for the life of me turn up to lectures and pretend to be enthusiastic and interested". This is a straight 7's guy: very academic.
You cannot imagine how much energy goes into this career, you just can't fathom it at the newbie uni level. You also just can't fathom how risky a career choice it is. Looking back at my decision to get the degree I look at it as the most ludicrous uninformed thing I've ever done.
I to had things go wrong years ago and guess what? I was the same a smy mate. Had I done a degree in something useful or a trade I would have been in a much better position.