Airline seniority lists always have been, and always will be a hollow company tool that means absolutely nothing. It doesn't matter a fig if you are employed, self employed, or whatever. Every Part D and Part A manual i have ever read clearly stated that seniority for upgrade was performance dependent. Ok, one could argue the seniority list gives guys an idea when then can have a crack at upgrade or base change, training positions etc. But the permanent direct employed guy chewing the fat for years and messing the sim is less favoured than the razor sharp contractor that sails through.. its a simple fact, airlines pick the guys they want" fairness" is a "fairy tale" . The only tangible use of the seniority list is for pay, why do BA and the legacy carriers have so many " career First Officers"?? A common " seniority list" by Company is meaningless unless everyone on the list is capable of moving around the fleets in terms of qualifications and locations. If a company has 200 737Ng and 3 777 for example the list is wholly meaningless.