Some good posts.Indeed the Airline scene is rapidly changing,particularly with success of the low cost carriers.I think things will continue to lean towards the exploitation of pilots as the long time majors will find it tough to compete against the low cost outfits.
Here in Australia,Qantas has realised that they no longer have to treat applicants with any respect.You now have to find your own way to interviews(expensive.especially from Perth),of which there are two,if your lucky,and you are also required to pay AUS$150 for an aptitude test.
I think Qantas look at Virgin blues cost structure with envy,and will do their very best to get there cost structure down.I predict that Qantas Pilots will have to endure some discomfort in the future.
As for flying for free,that is a choice that one makes,everybody will make that choice for their own circumstances.People like I was, would have condemned such actions as a degradation of our profession,but,things change and so do ideals.
I am a 40 year old pilot who worked for a now defunct Australian major,10,000 hours commercial jet of which 5000 are in Command and an unblemished record.I have not been able to get a job anywhere,after sending dozens of applications I have not even had an interview!!.It has been a year since I have flown and now recency(or lack of) starts to come into the equation and I am getting to the stage of looking at anything to keep my career alive.Why I mention all this is not to receive sympathy but to highlight the fact that getting your foot in the door with a major is no guarantee of having made it for life,ask the boys at Pan Am,Americas premier Airline 25 years ago.The real unfortunate reality of the Auz scene is that there are still hundreds of pilots here,just like me!.