Age 60 rule--SWA, Fedex and UPS hiring

[FlyBoeingJets]

Ahhh....The Point.


My point is it will be a little tougher to get hired at SWA and FedEx if over 60 passes. And...it will not only hurt FedEx hiring more than than SWA, you may spend years longer in the SO seat as over 60 SO's move back up to the front. I also predict some retiring every year at 60 will choose to stay longer if they can keep their front seat instead of moving to the back.

We shall see.

 

[sandman2122]

There's a lot to consider if this Age 60 actually gets implemented.

To begin with, I believe not all of the over 60 group will go back to their former front seat. We have a lot of guys who are retired military or coming from another airline late in life. They're probably more senior on the DC-10/727 panel (at FedEx) then the right seat. With their vacation and/or sick leave almost maxed out and being somewhat senior, they can work very little and enjoy descent trips vs. bidding more junior trips in the right/left seat. To piggyback - these guys/gals may not want to go through the Memphis training cycle again - especially when they only have 3-4 years left before retirement (they're on easy street, why go through the pain grandpa!).

Finally, the company will complain about with the increased training costs and potential scheduling nightmares..... These nightmares could be trying to keep "legal" the over 60 vs. under 60 crews. Example: A 63 yr old Captain's F/O calls in sick at the last minute - scheduling will need TWO reserve lists (over and under 60 F/O's) to legally fill trips - something they don't worry about now. Can't put the most junior guy, an age 62 F/O, who's sitting airport standby on the trip. Another option would be to screw ALL the under Age 60 guys and say "over 60 guys are a headache to schedule on Reserve, therefore they will not sit Reserve" - but ALPA wouldn't allow it. Scheduling would probably assign trips out of order and out of current leveling parameters...

This could/will create seniority issues when monthly bids come out. Another Example: The #5 seniority Airbus F/O, age 64, gets awarded the LVS - MEM line, the Captain awarded the line is age 64 too - who gets bumped, what is the quick solution, a can of worms just got opened......

The obvious seniority/upgrading problem will be the 59-60 year olds who will stay put in the left seat. Can't come up with a positive spin on that.

I grew up attending a public school and I didn't aspire to be a SQ/CC in the Air Force so bear with me. This post is probably soo flawed I should delete it, but I won't because I'm sure, well not really, that I'm not talking out of my @ss for a change. Wow, I bet I broke a few "Tounge & Quill" rules in that paragraph.

 

[Big Beer Belly]

Wow, I bet I broke a few "Tounge & Quill" rules in that paragraph

"Tongue & Quill" ... (sound of big sigh ...) "Now that's a name I've not heard in a long, long time."

You make some great points sandman about the scheduling can of worms with over/under 60 crew incompatibility scenarios.

BBB

 

[TexaSWA]

Actually, because FedEx already has over 60 pilots, (maybe 20-25% stay after 60?), there would not be as big a hit as carriers that do not have over 60 pilots now. In addition, I would imagine some would still retire at or around 60. Certainly hiring in the short term would take a hit at FedEx, but not to the extent of companies like SWA.

At SWA hiring to cover retirements is only about a quarter of the hiring due to growth. As long as we continue our planned growth you will not see a huge decline in hiring. 100+/- fewer per year.

I dont know how growth is on the cargo side so I cant wont even guess about FedEX

 

[VaB]

Scheduling would probably assign trips out of order and out of current leveling parameters...

But they already do that anyway. Or so I've heard.

Seriously though, as far as the reserve stuff goes, I think you're over thinking the problem. I'm sure they would just continue they way they have, with one list. If an old guy Captain needs a young guy F/O and the next reserve guy up is over 60, just move on to the next one. Those schedulers do miraculous things with the rules and the order in which folks are called.

How the line bidding would go, who knows. Maybe they would just give the senior guy a case of Geritol and bump him off of his trips.

 

[Airmike767]

The european Carriers will be flying into the USA with over 60 Captains, as they now do with over 60 FOs. The issue is fairness and stopping discrimination. The training scheduling issues will be resolved. I beleive that TWA did a study several years ago on a class and followed it through age 60. Only 30% were still around at age 60. Lots of us plan to retire at sixty but many need to continue to work due to failed companies, lost pensions or no pensions. There are many pilots out there who have never worked at a major and never received the higher pay and ability to retire at any age prior to SSN and Medicare. It is unfair to relegate these pilots to poverty and the WalMart greeter position because some new hire wants his Captain's seat sooner.

It was always unfair and I hope it changes on schedule in November 2006 with the rest of the ICAO participating world.

 

[K. Marx]

The european Carriers will be flying into the USA with over 60 Captains, as they now do with over 60 FOs. The issue is fairness and stopping discrimination.

The courts have already ruled that this is not discrimination. Europeans do a lot of things different from us, and they are equally as irrelevant.

 

[Airmike767]

So, I guess the over sixty crowd should just moveon to Europe.