Originally Posted by
tomgoodman
I know that it hasn't actually been proposed yet, but the very thought of a "B-scale" is alarming to anyone who flew while we had one. The rationale was similar: accept it or we don't get the flying at all, but the result was a long-lasting split in the pilot group.
Legitimate question, not flame-baiting or defending the B-scale as it existed in the 80s or at any point in the future:
Does it make a great deal of difference whether the split between "A-scale" and "B-scale" is on-property as in the 80s/90s or off-property as it is now? At least when it was on property it was something that could be eliminated in future contracts, whereas the apartheid system that exists today will be a very, very difficult beast to slay. I think the best argument for keeping it off-property is that it keeps the pilots at mainline more unified, as your post alluded to, but I think the ongoing argument between ACL65/BuckingBar/Superpilot and Slowplay/sailingfun/alfaromeo demonstrates that the junior pilots still find the existence of the B-scale very offensive even when it no longer applies to them.