I think you need to view this in the context of the whole album - the first lyric of which is "and so it has to change, the notebook's now in pieces, things we'll never say/sing...". It seems to me that there was pressure from management or the record company to make the lyrics less angst than the first album. The "pilots" are the management or record company but he is saying they are blind and that even though he is the one in the driving seat and is going "to try and land" the plane (ship i.e the journey of the band). The reference to "you came along to raise the bar" is again a reference to management trying to make them better by correcting his mistakes.. etc, etc
I think you need to view this in the context of the whole album - the first lyric of which is "and so it has to change, the notebook's now in pieces, things we'll never say/sing...". It seems to me that there was pressure from management or the record company to make the lyrics less angst than the first album. The "pilots" are the management or record company but he is saying they are blind and that even though he is the one in the driving seat and is going "to try and land" the plane (ship i.e the journey of the band). The reference to "you came along to raise the bar" is again a reference to management trying to make them better by correcting his mistakes.. etc, etc