Originally Posted by
Nachomamma
That's what "senior" means...it means senior to everyone else. FO's, no matter how long they've been here, will always be relatively junior, and therefore...you guessed it, NOT senior. Next time, choose your words more carefully.
Having said that, you are correct. FO's here, no matter how "senior" they are...are screwed forever. For them, this is essentially Pizza Hut...the ultimate dead end job. They will never upgrade - not ever, and I think most of them are starting to figure that out.
There's a lot of denial on these boards of the obvious facts, but denial and conjecture doesn't pay the bills. No mandatory retirement age = dead end job. Period.
I really don't need a vocabulary lessson from you. I've lived in seniority for a long time. I am well aware that there are three kinds of pilot seniority....all use the same word. Next time read up; stash your superiority complex and join in with the regular folk who are trying to have a pleasant, non "mine is bigger than yours" conversation.
Yes...the lack of mandatory retirement age makes projecting up-grades virtually impossible. Another thing that seems to be at work is that the guys at the top (system seniority, not category) have a pretty good life and that might induce them to stay longer. This not only inhibits moving up, but it really impacts moving us to the higher paying equipment. I don't have a problem with senior captains staying at all....that's what seniority is all about. God bless 'em.