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Old 11th Oct 2010, 18:26
  #103 (permalink)  
Norman Stanley Fletcher
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: 'An Airfield Somewhere in England'
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Dr Eckener - you are absolutely wrong in both your understanding of seniority and the likely benefits of abandoning it. When you talk of free movement of labour, that assumes a constant size labour market that never changes from year to year. The reality of aviation is that it grows and contracts with no rhyme or reason. Any concept of a 'master seniority list' assumes that at age 22 you get a number that guides you throughout the rest of your career. It makes no allowance for aircraft type experience, regional flying, long haul etc or for extensive periods of not working due company bankruptcy, having children, loss of licence and so forth. The real world is infinitely more complicated than that where some people leave other careers to fly, companies come and go and pilots decide to leave the industry. Furthermore it makes no allowance for the initial and ongoing employability of one candidate before another outside the company. You cannot just have some guy turning up at say BA, announcing he is Global Seniority List number 245,721 and demanding his appropriate place in the promised land above some innocent chap who is, alas, stuck forever at 245,722 - despite having worked there for 15 years. Seniority means that 'Captain Special', who is the Chief Pilot's wife's brother's tennis partner does not get preferential treatment over Fred Bloggs from a working class background, who has no important mates in the company but has slaved for years to get where he is.

Your comparisons with doctors, lawyers etc are invalid on a number of counts. First of all, a doctor's or lawyer's skill set is much more difficult to evaluate against a set of critieria that are clearly laid down. A pilot's skills can be clearly determined in simulator exercises to determine if he/she has the necessary skills to be a Captain. In addition a pilot's experience can be analysed hour by hour, so that it can be determined if they have the basic minimum experience to hold a command within his company. Incidentally, ask any doctor or lawyer to tell you hand-on-heart that their promotion system is fair - it absolutely is not and is decided in many case on wining and dining key bosses and clients plus the provision of 'favours' in all their various forms. I utterly reject that approach to promotion and see the seniority system as the only way of stopping that. May we be delivered in aviation from promotion on 'merit', which in most cases means sucking up to your boss and catching his eye over a curry and a drink down-route. I know that seniority is not perfect, and checks and balances need to be in place. I also accept that seniority only works in certain industries when all promotion candidates are basically doing the same job. It is, however, infinitely better than a system of global transfers where lucky people whose sole 'skill' was to start flying Cessna 150's the week before someone else and they then have a trump card to play at will for the rest of their lives. Suddenly, that guy gets the 'nod' over a more deserving candidate who has waited years within one company for an opportunity to advance. Leave airline managers to decide 'merit' and before you know it Chief Pilot's sons are promoted ahead of everyone else and the Captains are essentially 'grace and favour' appointees, employed at the whim of some senior bod whose next door neighbour gave him a good night out at the dog races or whatever. I absolutely cannot stand all that and would back a loyalty-based seniority system every time. If you want to advance in your company, do your time, prove your worth and take your chance when it comes - which it surely will in a seniority-based system.

Last edited by Norman Stanley Fletcher; 11th Oct 2010 at 18:44.
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