Originally Posted by
maximaman
This is the only problem I have with aviation and why I probably won't ever go work for the airlines. Your whole career is based on a senority number. Unlike some jobs, were the most productive and hard working will get promotions, pilots are at the mercy of a senority number. You just have to sit and wait and hope that someones leaves or retires so that you can move up. Everyone is on the same playing field so it doesn't really matter if your a better employee or not. Now that airline pay and quality of life is in the dumpster it makes it harder for pilots to wait around for that next year pay. Maybe you would have been better off just pursuing general aviation.
The seniority system is not always ideal, but it is the only system that has any chance of being fair.
The problem with a performance-based system is that there are VERY few things a line pilot does which can be measured objectively. About the only possible criteria are:
1) Did you pass your PC? Did you do well?
2) Did you crash any airplanes.
3) On-time performance.
Pass/fail on a PC is somewhat subjective, and trying to grade your PC performance qualititively would be very subjective (ie not fair).
Crashes doesn't happen very often, so that's not a useful measure either (but it is pretty objective
)
On-time performance is very bad measure because in addition to identifying pilots who work hard and make an extra effort, it will also reward those willing and eager to commit frequent safety violations
Without objective measures all the butt-kissers and relatives of management get their pick of schedules, domiciles, equipment, upgrades, vacation...while everybody else gets hosed. There a several books about the early days of aviation which clearly document this phenomenon. This is one of those times when you need to learn from the past...
Look on the bright side...at least the seniority system ensures that some marginal pilot who's friends with management doesn't jump seniority and get YOUR upgrade.