cnsnz,
Mate I hate to sound elitist but pilots and engineers for that matter, by the very nature of their job description are required to meet certain standards regularly and with no exceptions.
The skills and qualifications that they need are not of their making but are mandated by the very demanding and complex nature of the job at hand.
If a baggage handler stuffs up you might not get your bags on time. If a reservations clerk stuffs up it might make for a bad day.
If a pilot stuffs up you can find yourself very dead very quickly!
Care to put a price on that?