Originally Posted by
morno
Seniority in Australia is also what keeps many very qualified and experienced pilots from around the world (ie. Australian expats) who could bring a lot to the system, from coming back to Australia into suitable roles (ie. Commands and Check and Training roles), all because if that very experienced pilot wants to come back to Australia, they are demoted to a First Officer (or Second Officer in Qantas' case!).
Seniority works to a point, but it's a system that's still not in the best interests of the company in terms of recruiting the best people for the job into the most appropriate roles.
True, but that same seniority system also
keeps a lot of the experience in the Airline.
Why sit on the seniority list for 25+ years waiting for a widebody command when you could run off overseas for 10 and come back as a DEC?
Sure, abolishing seniority might afford them to hire DEC's out of the sandpit, but how much turnover would they have in the SO/FO ranks as Pilots flock overseas for some command time, sick of being overlooked in favor of returning expats?
Slippery slope in my opinion.