Thanks for your views Shaggy Sheep Driver.
What is changing so much in the industry to make it different to the previous generations?
Back in the day, airline flying was for the wealthy. Air crew were well paid with a strong union, and the high cost of pilot wages wasn't too much of an issue in the light of high fares and high overheads generally.
Today, it's a completely different industry. The old order was challenged by the likes of Freddie Laker, and conquered by Virgin, then the low costs. They saw that the secret was 'cost reduction' and low fares.
Reduce the fares, and you increase your market share. With the privatisation of state airlines, and the failure of those who could not change (Pan Am, TWA, and countless more) the 'new, meaner' industry emerged.
An obvious casualty was the high pay and superb conditions enjoyed by air crew. With countless individuals willing to take on £100k debts to train themselves, paying for type ratings, and willing to work for burger bar wages, why should airlines pay £100k pa and a super pension, easy rotas, and 5 star hotel layovers for aircrew?
It's not the industry it was 20 years ago. And actually, it almost certainly shouldn't be. Market forces now apply in the flight deck as they do almost everywhere else, which is no bad thing for the rest of us.
As long as the regulators ensure safety standards are maintained. Despite a few high profile accidents (AF447, Colgan dash 8), airline flying seems no less safe for these changes. And AF are probaly one airline that hasn't yet felt the full impact of market forces on the flight deck despite featuring in one of the most bizarre accidents of all time (447 - and AF Concorde at Paris did them no favours, either)!