Tartare, I am sure QF do have both pilots and engineers, who are more than suitable, to take up executive positions within the company. Major positions. But they also probably reason, that it would be equivalent to going out and constantly bashing their collective heads against the garage door, and the extra money and stress would not be worth it. As I stated earlier, up until the 80's anything to do with flight WAS run by Pilots and Engineers, and remarkably well, and then the bean counters took over. The results speak for themselves. Ansett, gone, TAA merged, QF in deep ****e. All since the 80's. The reality is until you get rid of this incompetent board, until you put in a CEO, who really knows their stuff, eg:Gail Kelly, et al, who recognises their staff's worth, and who would be willing to put a Senior Pilot and Engineer in a advisory position, along with other people who actually know what they are doing, and are well versed in foresight, insight, and competence, QF will continue to go along like a duck, appear to working on the surface, but paddling like buggery underneath.