I know that, you know that, everyone knows it but the people at the top & they make the rules. It's the same in almost every big business you can think of, including the nationalised ones.
Of course, the simple fact is, would you fire yourself if you were earning a ton of money? even worse, if the airline goes down its these guys who get a huge payout, while the real workers are forced to look for a job while loosing all seniority. Oh the fickled world of airlines.