Normally, Continental CEO Jeffrey Smisek would be paid $730,000 in salary this year, notes the Wall St. Journal. But get this: Smisek says he won’t accept his salary — and that goes for his annual bonus, too — until the airline records a full-year net profit.

It’s a wonderful gesture in an industry that has seen so many low level employees forced to take pay cuts to keep their airlines flying (and not so low level — pilots and cabin crew have seen salaries slashed, as well).

Smisek wrote a letter to his employees about this, telling them he wasn’t asking anyone else to reduce their pay — he just wanted their help in “making Continental profitable again.” If nothing else, I can see how this will do good things for morale.

(Idle thought: I trust he consulted the missus before taking this drastic step…)