jetbluedog said:
What are your thoughts of NEPOTISM in aviation? Is is out there?
Anyone out there working a job because of NEPOTISM? If so, how does it make you feel?
Is NEPOTISM a threat to the security and safety of our passenegers who expect truely experienced pilots?
Has anyone had a run in with NEPOTISM?
Nepotism most definitely exists in the industry. While some companies have policies that forbid nepotism in some form or another, most, I believe, do not.
When the competition is so fierce, as it is today, the recommendation of a current employee goes a long way toward getting a job with Company X. Getting that recommendation from a relative, be it spouse, father, uncle, or cousin, carries a certain deal of weight.
Now, as to the goodness or badness of that practice, that's another story. You asked if it compromises safety and security. I don't believe it does, IN GENERAL. There may be certain circumstances or hypotheticals that could be developed where safety or security might be compromised. Were my wife and I to be confined to the cockpit of an MD-11 for the time it takes to transit the continent, it is quite possible that a situation might develop where we would both be distracted from the task of flying the airplane. That doesn't mean that the passengers would be inherently at risk if my wife simply works at the same airline, or even flies the same airplane at a different time or on a different route.
I do believe, though, that the preferential hiring practice will leave MORE qualified candidates for the job outside the process. While I might be excited to get my son a job flying for my company, it is likely that he would be hired ahead of another individual with better technical qualifications or credentials. Is that fair? Well, that's debatable.
While I know of many, many cases of nepotism at my company (sorry, flx757, I'll get back to the topic quickly) I know of not one single instance where safety or security was compromised by nepotism.
flx757, have you ever missed a radio call while you were "talking to" your wife?
