it distills down to what sort of career do you want - fulfilling or declining in a spiral to the first accident?
1. Unfortunately seniority means it's simply too great a pay cut to leave and start at the bottom of a new airline.
2. Secondly the continuing spiral, forces crew to stay longer to recoup the loss in expected earnings.
I'm afraid the root cause to airlines all over the world attacking conditions and getting away with it is seniority, while it does have benefits when adhered to and obviously without it would mean new problems.
Without it you may end up retiring at 55 as a lifetime F/O because you followed the money and jumped ship anytime more cash was available.
(What
never be a Captain you must be joking, oh that shiny jet and all that ego I'd rather get a pay cut!)
New joiners today will probably be Captains for 20+yrs but will have to fly to 67+ with the lack of inflationary pay rises.
I know it's a ugly concept to get around but every other profession on the planet functions without seniority perfectly well, and as said would generate new problems but at least if you didn't like it you
could leave and that is something airlines wouldn't like, unfortunately for them we are expensive investments worth keeping and the only reason to stay would be for lifestyle and pay, two of the things that CX is continuing to decimate.
Look at all the F/Os sacrificing command for lifestyle, the pay simply isn't worth it, they would have left if they could but they can't, and the company damn well knows it!
And before anyone quotes me saying
oh that shiny jet and all that ego I'd rather get a pay cut!)
means pay would go down with a lack of a seniority system is not looking at rest of the world yes, some people get promoted who shouldn't but it's not the majority, the most qualified get promoted and/or move with free will, and as a result improve their pay and conditions.