I know Netjets isn't a big part of BRK anymore, but it has always been a well-managed company, so a decline would be worth noting. Anyone have insight into this issue?

I wouldn't call it much of an insight, but the core of it is who has the power. A pilot can live without a given carrier like Netjets, as they can work somewhere else. But a carrier can't function without pilots. Consequently, a carrier usually has to pay the pilots pretty much whatever they ask for. They will keep asking for more till the carrier stops making decent profits. Why leave money on the table if it's yours for the asking?

The article seems insightful, but the subtext seems to be that Netjets pilots are underpaid. One should not dismiss out of hand the reverse possibility that pilots elsewhere are overpaid. Perhaps Netjets has just drawn the line at what they're willing to pay while other carriers are giving in? If that's what has happened, maybe Netjets shouldn't try to draw that line, or maybe they're smart trying to hold it there--beats me.

The air travel business is extremely profitable. The secret is to find the place in the value chain that's making the money. It's almost never the branded airline, but the other links in the chain.

If an intercity bus driver naps for 15 seconds, people die. A pilot? Probably not : )
More than a bit tongue in cheek, but keep that heretical thought in mind when considering the ratio of their salaries and the true reasons for that ratio.
(I know a few pilots who will probably never speak to me again!)

Jim