Apart from the messy adoption process we went through when U.S. Airways absorbed the Winston-Salem Boys Flying Society (aka original Peidmont), and other nuisances like an overt anti-military bias exhibited by some management pilots and training department types, there were only 3 things that I found distasteful during my 11 year tenure with good, ole UnSafe Air. Not necessarily in order...the seniority system, a bedrock foundation of the union (ALPA) code that, by definition, allowed for advancement of many talentless aviators, and stiffled merit and ability on the cross of date of hire and/or one's SSN. Scabs, for the oft-stated and obvious reasons, and because their presence in the industry fostered an almost pathological reaction from those who worried about such things. Somebody mentioned dignity earlier, and that word cut both ways. In all my years of jump-seating, I ran across only 1 guy (a beat-up looking NWA type) who checked his little book...as a Captain I never did, I could've cared less...but I always felt that this NW Captain surrendered some of his dignity by this action. Airbus...the bane of commercial aviation. U.S. Air was an early sucker into the "free" airplane, "free maintenance" bonanza. Having flown Boeing and Douglas, you sensed that these Buses weren't built to last...they still aren't. Hell, even the trusty old F100 felt much more solid, and flew like an airplane should. As I said, there were lots of minor irritations, but these 3 stick out as fundamental in my mind.