DWS1

With continued industry consolidation (both in regards to airlines and in the number of Pilots) coupled with endless foreign and legislative threats, is now the time to readdress forming a National Seniority list?

At first glance, it would appear a valid long term strategy to protect the integrity of our Profession for as long as this Profession lasts. Furthermore, it may incentivize young people to pursue this Profession while protecting those with comparatively little time left from short term disruption and giving those in mid-career a shot at weathering upcoming storms. Finally, it would seem a viable means of maximizing our collective leverage to maintain our Profession for as long as possible.

Any foreward-looking thoughts?

Packrat

Never going to happen. Pilots are married to their Company seniority list. Any attempt to allow even ONE pilot to jump over them causes too much angst.

How would you institute it? First 121 job? First 135/91 job? First military flight? Too many variables and too much individual skin in the game.

full of luv

How would that even begin? Many pilots working overseas, non-union, and/or contract work. Many different unions. Just one SLI of two companies merging causes multiple pages of angst.

Best we could hope for now that most companies have finally unionized is to bring them all together for common goals like a revamping of the RLA to support the pilots having multiple delays in getting a contract. Probably next best would be for ALPA to make like a national scale that sets a minimum for professional pilots to earn in each type of plane. Even those ideas would have huge hurdles from industry and congress.

Hawaiian 5O

I'll be the first one to jump up and say it would be a really nice thing to have. So would my family winning the Powerball. I think both have about an equal chance of happening.

Honestly, the first thing you would have to do would be to get every merger committee from every airline to agree on a master SSL.

Now, think about how difficult it is just for two airlines to be able to do this with each other. Multiply that by 20, then factor in the major/regional debate regarding career expectations, and this goes really ugly really quickly. Now factor in ALPA merger versus Allegheny Mohawk LPPs, then sprinkle some Mccaskill – Bond on top of that just to make things a little more interesting.

There really aren't words to describe what kind of disaster this would be just to attempt. Again, I would love to see it, but this would make the US Air/AWA/AA deal look like a kindergarten class trying to paint a Barny The dinosaur picture in the afternoon.

Simply put, it would take years just to remotely pass muster, and it would take double that time for all of the lawsuits to settle.

galaxy flyer

If there was any valid opportunity to have a NSL, it was as part of the Deregulation Act. But, each MEC thought they were "golden" and didn't need a NSL for protection. Not happening now or in the future.

GF

ShyGuy

No way. Pilots of 2 airlines can't even decide how to integrate a seniority list and it always gets sent to arbitration. A national list is already a lost concept.

forgot to bid

So if there was an NSL, would it be really only an ALPA NSL or a NSL across unions? And how would you now assign a number in 2016? Would a 23 year old new hire starting today at a regional be above a 30 year old new hire at a major who starts next Monday? Would you do it by type of aircraft? What if a carrier is extremely healthy and one is ready to go the liquidation slaughter house, would you put one above the other?

So what rights does an NSL have? Can one who goes to a crappy job at a crappy airline for 10 years now get to waltz over to a awesome airline get hired and automatically hold 737 or A320 or even MD11 Captain because of their place on the NSL?

Does a senior 320 captain at virgin now just become a mid level seniority fo at Alaskan and lose their spot? Or do you weight it, and if you do that, how is that fair to the senior fo at alaskan?

Judge Smails

Hell, I'd be happy with a national longevity list.

GogglesPisano

It's being drawn up right now by a team of pink unicorns and sock gnomes.

forgot to bid

I heard the pink unicorns that fart glitter that smells like rainbows walked out.