Blackandbrown - what a bizarre and contradictory argument you present !!
I have had experience of several large, regional and foreign airlines and from a pilots point of view the whole package you get at virgin - pay, pension, rostering, lifestyle is better than I have had anywhere else. I am fairly junior there, but I get paid well for working less hard than I did when I operated short haul , my roster once published never changes and I get a good chunk of what I bid for considering my lowly position on the seniority list.
Unfortunately most of the points you make are not quantifiable . The skytrax point is interesting - I have worked for a ME carrier who scores very highly in these type of awards, and I believe some airlines may be able to 'manipulate' these awards by more than just customer satisfaction.
If you can point to the survey your mention that puts VA as the last but one airline in the UK I would be most interested.
Last edited by BIGBAD; 29th Jun 2012 at 09:05.