Flame away.....

The seniority system is crap. I'm in the military and I don't get to upgrade until I am deemed ready to do so. Favoritism is always going to play the part when dealing with humans, so let’s just say that it is always going to be a part of the process.

What would be so wrong with keeping a record of all flights that someone does while being only right seat qual'd, and then going to instructor, then evaluator? Why is that so hard to grasp? It took me just over a year in both aircraft that I have flown in the military to make that transition from right to left. Each flight that I did had a write-up. Those write-ups were reviewed by my training office and then by my Director of Operations, then by my Squadron Commander. It was up to the SQ/CC to decide if I was ready to upgrade, based on the input that was given to him. I have seen it plenty of times that people have been held back because they were not considered "ready" to upgrade. The system works. Just because I am senior, and getting retrained on a new aircraft, doesn't mean that I am more qualified to be a left seater any faster than the guy who has spent 5 years in that plane.

This system could easily be adapted to fit the airlines needs (keep flaming, I know you want to). Now I know that the next argument is going to be how we get paid. The truth is I don't have an answer for that one.

The system is flawed and seniority is a root cause. I can't see that the military will trust me with an aircraft that is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, let me command a mission that flies around the world, transit a combat zone, entrust me with the lives of a hundred people, several million dollars worth of equipment, and the airlines will not. (don't stop flaming now!).

If I was to enter the airline game now, it would take me anywhere from 5-9 years (ish) to get that left seat qual. That just seems backward to me. How is it that the government, who doesn't trust anyone to do anything, trusts me on a greater level than an airline?

Those that are ready get promoted based on skill and experience, period! How many times have you all sat in the right seat thinking to yourself that you could run this trip better than the guy in the left seat? But sadly you have to wait several more years until your number comes up. It's sad.

I know that I am completely going against the grain here, but that is okay. Real change only comes from those that are willing to think outside the box and not from those that want to drink the coolaid and follow the party line.

I hope I have not offended too many people, for this response was only intended to share my thoughts, not to anger those that love the seniority based system.


And begin the flaming