At least in the US, and it’s probably true on the other side of the pond, the seniority system is used for nearly every work group at the airlines. Mechanics, flight attendants, rampers, gate agents, etc.

BTW, awesome picture!

Originally posted by Moondance
What people on this forum may not appreciate, is exactly how important seniority in an airline is.

You’re right Moondance, the single most important thing to any airline pilot is seniority. A few years prior to making it to the airlines I did an intership with my current employeer and got a glimps at the roll seniority plays in a pilots life. I didn’t fully appriciate it until I had a seniority number and saw how unforgiving it could be.

I know quite a few people who decided not to rush to the airlines so they took their time building time and experience. Their reasoning was that at the time the airlines were hiring like crazy and they could apply a few months later when it was convienent. Big mistake. A lot of those people are on the street without a job right now or are so junior they get the scraps that aren’t bid for by other pilots leaving them based in other parts of the country with no hope of having a preference for days off. Meanwhile I’ve weathered the post-9/11 storm well enough to stay in my preferred base and hold a decent line. I never have said “I told you so” as that’s too much salt in an already deep wound but they’ve gotten a painful lesson in the importance of seniority.

When the axe started to fall on our seniority list putting people to the street, I heard a quite a few pilots say “If I was only hired 1 month sooner” or “If I was only 10 numbers more senior.” And as you said Moondance, there is nothing you can do about it. From the day you’re hired, your seniority number is locked in place and the only way you move up is if people leave or die.

LOL= Laughing Out Loud
ROTFL = Rolling On The Floor Laughing
ROTFLOL = Rolling On The Floor Laughing Out Loud
IMHO = In My Honest Opinion

Those are only a few of the more common ones. Hope that helps.

Yeah, the flight crew’s uniforms could match.

Perhaps in India but I’ve talked crews and seen a difference in US, Canadian and British operations. Those 3 countries make up most air travel in the world which would mean a majority of pilot groups are changing from the male dominated environment to one where females are just as welcome.

Re: Re: Word of comfort

Originally posted by Moggy C
Told you so!

3 favorite words of any pilot. 😉 😀

Some least favorite:

What’s that smell?

What’s that noise.

Hey, watch this.

The great thing about the right seat is that First Officers don’t get called into the Chief Pilots Office when something goes wrong. 😀 The hardest job of the First Officer is to keep the captain out of trouble and out of the Chief Pilots Office.

Understandable that the stress in one’s life can put one a bit on edge. It happens to the best of us. Learn and move on but don’t stop speaking your mind. No one learns if we all sit around quitely.