Unfortunately this tends to be the case and not just in the airline industry...it is rampant across all businesses...
If you examine many recent problematic companies all the encumbant executives or those just removed are on a similar pay deal.
I was once told that as a rule of thumb a Chairman or CEO of a large publically quoted corporation should expect to get 1-2% of the companies' turnover (not profit) as his remuneration.
In many cases 'Chairman/Presidents' are not there to run the company but are to present the public face of the business to the shareholders and financial institutions, also to the politicians. Again in many cases these appointments are filled by career executives who are placed in the post through pressure or the 'old boy' network from the financial institutions and/or politicians...they look after their own...
As I say this is widespread across all business boardrooms...I myself have often wondered/questions how a Chairman/President can;
a) have no experience within the industry in which he is leading a company
b) leave a company that has failed during his tenure and then pick up another Chairmans' job a few weeks later!
Answer - interference from the financial institutions and/or the politicians!!
When a Chairman/President does not act to the benefit of the above 2 parties he is invariably removed, and their benefit is not necessarily in the best interests of the company in question, its' staff or its' long term future...