Originally Posted by
hans brinker
Your previous experience should not count for anything except maybe salary when you start over at another airline (and I am against even that ). Sure, it seems unfair to have to start at the bottom, but that is nowhere near as unfair as being at a company for years and having other people come in and take your slot. And I firmly believe DECs should only happen as a last resort. Seniority should apply to everything. And I have had to start over at the bottom twice after years as a captain. Just my opinion.
I worked for a company that hired a lot of DECs during growth, a surprising amount of those were let go because of their "aircraft handling practices". Much safer to work with the people you know when it is time to upgrade.....
As a result of that, after a few years it's getting harder and harder for anybody to leave their current employer, because even if you leave a crappy airline for one of the best, you will be stuck at the bottom for many years: earning less than before, flying the worst duties, endlessly commuting to the most inconvenient base .
And that's why the market is what it is nowadays - such approach is killing the best negotiation technique - voting with everyone's feet. The management is well aware that people won't leave because there's nowhere else to go without losing.