You all seem to assume I regard you with contempt because you sit in seats 0A and 0B.
I don't at all.
But I think you need to stop viewing the white shirt, tie wearers with contempt.
I'm one of them.
Yet I can argue the operational detail of aviation with you `til the cows come home... from heavys through to fast jets.
For me, one of the most wonderful things I've ever read, is the slogan of the EAA - in the US.
It simply says "When did you know?"
I knew when I first flew in an NAC 737 as a child.
That'll give you all an idea of how old I am.
On corporate Governance - as pilots, you DO have a place in the running of your company.
But in my humble opinion - it is not on the Board of QF.
The Board's role in any business is to represent investors.
It's job is to ask the naive lay-person questions of management that experts would not, for fear of being exposed as fools.
So with genuine respect gentlemen and ladies of the cockpit, the place for the rare beast of a management pilot who knows the operational detail of how to fly long-haul, is not a union hard man, or woman, and is open to learning about the perilous financial complexities of running an airline - is on the Executive Committee.
And - you can still fly line - or you should be able to.
I sat behind Morgan on a descent into AKL in a lovely 777 just before I left.
He was laughing about how he should have been able to remember the company procedures because he wrote them all.
Was also due to meet with the Exec committee on Monday morning.
And then we crossed 10,000 feet - sterile cockpit - and it all went very businesslike.
It can be done.