Some good posts
Just wanted to say that there are some great posts here and concur Sassy Pilot's wife should write a book!
Anyhow, I think there is definately less glamour now - I recently watched the rather excellent BOAC and BEA DVD's that have just come out and the footage of the passenger service and food shows how wonderful the service used to be. I have no idea why airlines have allowed their service standards to slide so dramatically in recent years because anyone who has been in Waitrose or M&S recently will have seen a very large number of people buying food there and paying a premium for it because it is so good. I think part of the problem is that those people will happily pay a reasonable amount more for more space and better food and drink but they won't pay an unreasonable amount more. As an example If airline a offers me a lowcost service and a fare of £100 and airline B offers me a free bar, a decent meal and wants to charge £130 for it I would consider that reasonable but what I and many other won't do is pay £300 just to get a meal and bar service which probably costs the airline £10!
For what it's worth I used to work in IT Management and I'm afraid that terms, conditions and perks have been slashed there too in most companies. The world of work was a lot more fun when there was the odd golf day, or overseas conference or even just a team awayday to a nice hotel with a decent meal thrown in. Unfortunately the bean counters have spoilt it for all of us - pilots and managers included...
I'm now a pilot having paid my way through OATS, refused to pay for a part sponsored type rating for BMI/Easy, refused to even give Micky O'Leary £50 to have my application read and joined a leading UK regional. From day one (five years or so ago) they paid my uniform, accomodation, hire cars, pension, meal allowances and type rating (bonded). Since then I have done a second type rating for them which was paid and not even bonded. I'd say that after that they have earned a degree of loyalty and respect from me even though their wages aren't the best I feel that morally they have done the right thing. They have a growing fleet of state of the art Embraers which really are more modern than what I would be flying in most other airlines - even flag carriers.
In terms of how I have felt treated I have to say that it has been a mixed bag. In terms of investing in my training and the quality of it they are first class and that certainly has made me feel very highly valued. In terms of crew food provision and ability to get a day off at short notice for something urgent - then they have disappointed me sometimes and can be quite inflexible. The crewfood is pretty poor and like the passenger food should be improved!!
I haven't seen much of the world in terms of layovers which in some ways is disappointing but as I am now middle aged I increasingly find the appeal of being home every night with my wife is getting stronger than the appeal of being in a hotel room with somebody else's. I also don't have a widebody itch anymore - the bigger the plane, the longer the route and the less hands-on flying you get.
So while it certainly hasn't lived up to expectations in terms of me joining BA, partying my way around the world, working 14days a month and drawing a six figure salary, I make a salary that is just about in the top 10% of UK salaries (£48000) and still love flying for its views, the big boys toys and the artistry and beauty of flying well.