there are a lot of very unpleasant people running / managing airlines. It was very different 20 years ago.
On a point of order, no it wasn't.
I'm not a full-time commercial pilot, but I worked in the '80s and early '90s for two of the most unpleasant, bullying, totally profit-motivated rogues I would ever hope not to meet again. I knew of others just like them. By and large they shared two common features; the airlines they ran they also owned, and they had a contempt for all forms of regulation. One was based at an airport that now hilariously calls itself a "London" airport.
It was very easy to keep a CAA FOI quiet in those days; they all liked the good life. It's not that difficult now, but for very different reasons.
There were also top-notch people, exemplified by an accountant who ran two airlines (consecutively, not at the same time) as excellent businesses while being very aware of the need to respect and acknowledge the jobs done by all, including aircrew, while never, ever, sacrificing safety to financials. It is possible.
The best boss of all I've ever had was an accountant and an ATPL holder, who kept himself current on at least one of the fleet. That was in the '70s.
I'm not saying things are better now, but let's drop the rose-coloured view of the past.
(In one of those airlines I mentioned, pilots were required to fly at least 4 long sectors a day for 20 consecutive days, on an overseas contract in a very hot and sandy country, in aircraft that should have been scrapped. Then they got 7 days off in UK. See above re FOI. If they didn't like it, they could
off, said the boss. Trouble was you only got a flying job in that airline if you were unemployable elsewhere (with some exceptions) and the owner knew it.)