Yes, Fly By Wire, all true. I've worked for the same airline for nine years now. In that time I've seen the Ts & Cs eroded to such a degree that it is unrecognizable from the company I joined. Our pay has reduced in real terms by 28%. We used to stay in great hotels downtown now, without exception, they are all three star airport layovers. Speaking of layovers, they have removed so many by operating a 'heavy crew' system (with us that's just three pilots) & scheduling two leg flights: e.g. LAX-SFO-NRT or AMS-MXP-NRT: 17 - 18 hour duties traversing time zones & even the international dateline. We have had the annual CPI pay increase removed from our contracts. If you call in with fatigue expect to face a disciplinary. The crew food is slop that honestly wouldn't be allowed in a prison; they have even removed the disposable, paper toilet seat protectors to save money!
Want to leave then hey, "You fly the B747, we operate the 777 or 787 or 737 & we're not going to pay for your conversion course!" Or, "You fly heavy jets it's totally different from single aisle flying, close the door on your way out!" If I could get out of this once proud &, yes, glamorous industry & still meet my mortgage payments & school fees I'd be gone tomorrow. Sadly, that's the view of nearly all of my colleagues. And who do I fly for? Not a LCC, not in Europe but a Japanese airline who was once the bastion of great Ts & Cs. This is the point of my previous post: when all the guys who are willingly accepting the crap at the bottom want to move up there is going to be nowhere for them to go any longer.
Apologies for the thread creep.