indeed...
"I do not know why this business seems to breed contemp although I believe that some of it comes from the nature of the flight crews job is one where they check in and fly. There is little interaction with a wide spectrum of people within the company."
The career of a professinal pilot, particularly for a large (at least 500 pilot) outfit is unique and requires one to act in a very self sufficient, independant nature unseen nearly anywhere else save a few examples.
A few months ago I was trying to explain how my job worked to a friend of mine. I was explaining how you pick and know what your schedule is, to how you show up for work, and how you are the on-sight manager for the airline at your particular flight, to how the ATC system supports your PIC decisions unlike scenes protrayed in movies where ATC directs decisions, etc. He was completely confused about how you could go your entire carrer without ever meeting your boss, the cheif pilot (as long as nothing goes wrong or you don't have political aspirations). And how you have to play "you bet your job" every so many months. And how, on a massive scale, we have to be trusted to show up on time, at location, and do everything based on our own judegement, making decisions that effect anything from safety to company profitability to a large number of people's lives to our own industry's future. I certainly didn't go about trying to create a God complex description of the un-touchable airline captain - nope. I just described the job as is. And his amazement of it all reminded me we are all in an extremely unique and fortunate position, no matter what airplane we fly - be it commuter or 747.
On the other side of the coin, our "seniority based" jobs are constantly under attack from Bisquick airline managers and market forces that promote undercut performers. Let's see, add one airplane, put one part, maybe two parts pilots, and minimum pay for altitude, cook for a few years and you get...... a golden parachute! And a new job implementing those ideas at the next place with a signing bonus even!
In some days of despiration, I wish we could have an environment where we as pilots could get a golden parachute, or go to the competition when things get crappy at brand X airlines without having to start over. That's what some management types do, and we as line pilots are left holding the bag as our DNA is still imprinted with our seniority numbers at ONE and only one airline. For good. Unless you'd like to start over, and explain why you did for a while. Yes, seniority has saved us all for sure too, but as always, there are double edged swords.
So, sometimes I think we as a work group get a little contemptuous and viciously defensive of our turf when we realize somebody's latest bright idea may mutate and destroy our career DNA, if you will. That same person is likely to not stick it out for the long haul either. Yes, there are some very gifted leaders and managers out there that built the airline industry but typically we get to play lab rat for the not so good ones. It's hard for professionals who's lifes depend on learning from mistakes and not repeating them to watch the wheel get invented over and over by the bad ones.
I'm not saying all airline managers are reckless, but it's hard not to hold other's in higher positions than one's self to the same degree of scrutiny that one is held to. We as pilot's are always under scrutiny, it's part of the job.
