Originally Posted by
skypilot35
The system you're suggesting exists and probably works fine for a corporate flight department. They are generally a small group of pilots and have collateral duties which separate them out. This business (airlines) is like no other business. The model you are suggesting will not work here. We have a vast number of individual who predominantly have the same skill set. We are all ATPs.
What would the metric for promotion be? If the metric is experience, then generally speaking that equates to seniority. If the metric is competency, then how do you define it? Shoots a single engine ILS to minimums within ATP standards? We all do that. Shows up to work on time? You will not last at an airline if you are not reliable. Maintains a high state of physical readiness? Most of us have a 1st Class Medical. Looks great in uniform? Maybe you can weed a few applicants out here
, but for the most part I think pilots are squared away. Who would evaluate the pilots on their performance? Who would write the evaluations? The Chief Pilot in SLC has over 300 pilots that report to him. How is going to know which FO is ready for upgrade? I think this is why the current seniority based metric works tremendously well.
To your second point, I do not believe MOST pilots assume that just because they have the seniority number they are entitled to the left seat. IMO we recognize that the seniority number makes the opportunity for upgrade available, but it still has to be earned. Earned through study, discipline, experience, and of course testing. There are no gimmes in this industry. We work for everything.
We are saying some of the same things. A pilot should not have to start at pay level 0 because he chose to move to a better (subjective) company. However, I don't think that the pilot who was just about to upgrade should be penalized because that pilot with the higher seniority made a lateral move. The pilot who moved goes to the bottom of the list for the purpose of upgrade. That is the consequence of his decision to move.
Seriously?
This is not a joke?
How would you gauge someone for an upgrade? Um, just what I said before, you open it up to applications, HR reviews them, person gets an interview, goes through a sim, is graded and valued based on many things, a board makes a selection. You think this is impossible? It works for all sorts of skilled labor, like Doctors, etc. I'm not talking about corporate flight departments, I'm talking about the rest of the business world, literally.
Based on what you just said above, pilots SHOULD start out at zero each and ever time, because they have no skills that can be measured, no background, no ability to "tell the story", no way to improve themselves inside and outside of work, no extra leadership experience, etc. You're just giving reasons to sit on your rear end and expect the world to come to you because you are such a great person. Do you not see you are shooting yourself in the foot?
Like I said, this all works fine with most businesses, but to "break" the cycle and the things that you feel you are owed, the eventual or mythical "upgrade" or start out at the next airline with decent pay, you have to give them a reason to do it.