the only acceptable version of the seniority list in my opinion is an industry-wide, global list based upon experience
Interesting thought, wouldn’t work though. Loyalty to any one company is based largely upon one’s position and remuneration that advances and increases as one moves up the seniority list. A system that allowed outsiders to be ‘inserted’ relatively high up the ladder would create intense frustration and disloyalty within the pilot ranks of a particular company, as it now does, for example, when a British Airways captain retires at 55 and takes up a senior position within some of the Asian carriers.