Why's it a bad idea?

Apparently CEOs don't matter: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=why+ceos+dont+matter&t=canonical&i...

Or, put it another way: agreeing to pay them high salaries has, evidently, not helped.

Edit to add: I mean, CEOs don't matter in the general sense. Of course there's going to be exceptions where visionary leader matters. Extremely thin-margined airlines don't seem particularly innovative. Any MBA should be able to do ok?

The CEO of Japan Airlines makes $80K USD/yr and their airline actually performs incredibly well so maybe that's a pool we want to swim in. [1] Nobody's going to turn down "CEO of one of the biggest airlines in the world" because it pays just a pittance. There's other reasons to take the job.

[1] https://www.flightglobal.com/sink-or-swim-haruka-nishimatsu-...

JAL is not the best example for many reasons.

The cuurent leader is a former monk (who was appointed after the airline "froze" - stopped flying due to gross mismanagement,)

In Japan, leaders get massive benefits.

Monastic backstory aside do leaders not get non-monetary benefits in American society?

No, not to a comparable level.

Japanese leaders get free houses, air travel, etc. worth millions. In the US you must report that to the IRS, but not in Japan.

However, American leaders scam their company using buybacks, which is the top white-collar crime of the past 2 centuries. (By boosting EPS, your options/shares are worth much more, and you can automatically hit any EPS targets.)

Even hardware engineers in Japan are treated really well - the company will find you an apartment, a wife, etc. When you travel, you don't carry anything, you can Fedex it ahead of your trip. Your business card from a major company is essentially a VIP pass everywhere.

Can you imagine a single person who would turn down the role of CEO of the biggest airline in the world because it only paid $80K? I can't.