Should seniority be scrapped in airlines?

[PPRuNeUser0183]

Obviously a very emotive subject. Seniority is far more useful to airlines than it is to pilots.

Yes, length of service SHOULD be recognised & rewarded, including as one of the considerations among others for upgrading.

No, it shouldn’t limit movement between airlines, (I’m not for one minute suggesting that there’s a conspiracy between airlines to fix the market price! – They would never do that would they? )…

What if pay was based on transferable career experience? For example, what if airlines were to use pay scales based on factored Total Time, using a system similar to Easyjet’s recruitment requirements?

We would have all the benefits of length of service being rewarded when it comes to holiday allocation etc. but pay reflective of our experience, regardless of how many times we’ve switched companies or have been made redundant.

If the pilot shortage is as suggested on other threads, any new start-up or existing company adopting this system would soon attract experienced and competent crews at a market rate, and crews would be motivated to work more hours to get to the next pay scale.

Of course, under such a system airlines would lose crews just as easily if they didn’t remain competitive, which is exactly why they prefer the current system,... to have us by the short & curlies