Seniority: Good or Bad?
The majority of airlines use a seniority system to determine everything from promotion to work rosters, but others (Easyjet, Ryanair), don't use seniority at all. What are people's views on this?
Personally I'm against promotion based on seniority. I don't know of any jobs where people are promoted on that basis and why should aviation be different? The best candidates for command aren't necessarily the ones that have been with the company for the most years. What about hours logged with other airlines which could have given someone lots of valuable experience? Obviously some means of differentiation between the 100s or even 1000s of FO's that would apply for command, but setting a minimum number of total hours would reduce the volume of applications substantially. Everyone that is eligible could apply like you would for any other job, and recruitment team could make judgements based on any exams they chose to set, reports from current captains etc. Out of interest, how are command decisions taken by Easyjet and Ryanair?
Then there's the question of bid-lines. I don't think it's morally fair for a few long-serving captains to work practically when they want while newbies have to work ALL the bad shifts for their first few years. However, the ability to bid for work and have input into your own roster is surely a good thing. My ideal system would be one where promotion is taken out of the seniority system and the bid system is reformed slightly. I'd keep the system of bidding and lines being made on the basis of seniority, but I'd put in more rules whereby every roster has to include say 1 weekends work per month and 1 Christmas/New Year in 3 where appropriate. This would ensure the unpopular work is at least shared out a bit.