Is it a better system?
Union and the seniority system completely prohibits the lateral move by pilots, and ironically, makes them slaves to both the union and the carrier they currently work for. If a pilot decides that he/she is unhappy at a particular job, or figures that there is little future at that carrier, their only options are to either stay, or quit and start over again at the bottom at another carrier. They are literally forced to stay aboard the sinking ship. After a certain point, it's called the "golden handcuffs"; It's less risky to stay where they are and take what benefits they are already getting than to start over.
Unions never figured out how to deal with deregulation because unions are about monopoly power; over both the industry and the workers they are supposed to be serving the best interests of. These goals are mutually exclusive.
