SkyHigh

Seniority is based solely upon date of hire. When hiring on with a new company It does not matter if you are a 300 hour wonder, 747 captain or a USAF Thunderbird everyone must start over again at the bottom.

Skyhigh

__________________
Work smart. Work to live. Don't live to work.

Josephus

Sorry guys, not trying to lead you on, but I know all this... my point is to bring light to the situation.

Does that really make sense? Taking a 20 year vet and putting him in the right seat next to a 2 year vet?

Who decides that the 20 year guy goes to the right seat?

PS... I know the answer.

TheQuan

SCOPE!!!
Part of every major airline contract is the scope clause. UAL and DAL know first hand what happens when the contract allows for "regionals" to fly airplanes larger than 50 seats. It really eats into the market share of the mainline airplanes thus reducing the need for mainline pilots further.
Anything larger than 50 seats flown with the major airlines brand name must/should be flown by mainline pilots and aircraft.

Sailor

Don't worry, ALPA is working hard to get your job back. right!!

Maybe if ALPA didn't spend so much money on stupid fancy publications, and meetings, they could probably help PILOTS organized and show the muscle that a UNION not a COUNTRY CLUB should do.

But then again, they do what the can!!

SkyHigh

Unfortunately those in charge of decisions like seniority at most every airline usually are in the upper ranks of seniority list. No way are they are going to mess with their golden castle.

The seniority system makes it difficult to be able to invest yourself into the career with much security. I am sure it must be great when everything works out.

Skyhigh

__________________
Work smart. Work to live. Don't live to work.

Josephus

Exactly, skyhigh...there are others in charge of destiny... and they will always cover number one first... it is human nature. That is why the airline system seems so unfair. You can not transfer your skill set without taking a penalty. While it may work out to a companies benefit to keep recycling older captains to the bottom of the list, it is not their decision... it is the unions we work with.

Isn't that why furloughs and liquidations are so bad? Because you are left with nothing. That doesn't happen to the other 80% of the workforce that does not have a union.

I could be wrong, but don't most workers go in search of jobs, and find them (not under the current situation, obviously) similar to the jobs they left?

I know this raises all sorts of issues, and I am not trying to stir the pot... but it is something to think about....

Jo

dozer

I never go to casinos because I'm not much of a gambler. At least thats what I tell myself. But the irony is that anyone who is an airline pilot gambles their entire career on picking the right seniority list to become part of. In my case I have proven once again...I'm not a very good gambler.

__________________
See the world as it is, not the way you would like it to be.

Josephus

Dozer, I think you are right. I have often said that we will know if we made the right choice in thirty years. All the guys who got their Golden Ticket at Pan Am, United, Eastern and thought they had it made verses the guys who had to settle for FedEx, Southwest, or even Delta back in the day never knew that their future was so unsure.

While to a certain extent, that is just life... the airline industry seems to suffer more from uncertainty. The question is Why?

757upspilot

You aren't a pilot. Change companies you start at the bottom.

757upspilot

You 777 pay scale looks like SWA gets for a 737 and is about 15% below what we get for a 767. Who do you work for?