That's why many major airline pilots have taken their skills and experience and gone "global". There are fantastic airline jobs out there if we are willing to think outside the box (borders) and come up to speed. It's hard to say it but even though North America has given much to aviation in the past, we have well and truly fallen behind into second world status in civil aviation "while we were sleeping" at the switch. I guess we're OK with that though, b/c actions speak louder than words and we finally have what we've wanted all along, according to Wall Street!

Bottom line though, no matter who you work for or what plane you fly, the buck stops with the captain and the responsibility of what happens on that day in that jet, lies with the crew. As long as we can keep the standards high and keep in mind what has gone into the profession from the earliest days, any pilot can give themselves the inspiration to do great work with whatever tools they are given to work with. I think that's what the little ditty is about anyway. We don't always get the best tools to work with and best canvas to paint with, but the most trusted and best pilots will do what they have to, to be the trusted ones they need to be. You never know when the test will be, it's always un-announced. The test results are final, and like Ernest Ghann says, "we play for keeps". I'll put my trust in "real" air crew, not "Microsoft" junkies!