Age 65 goes into effect tomorrow???

[AKMD80GUY]

I've made this proposal to ALPA and my State Reps. that Age 60 should pass but the person over 60 can't act as PIC. Thus the person moves back to the right seat much like they did when we still had engineers. It's a win win for everyone. FO's still upgrade ontime, the guy over 60 can still fly and make cash and the airlines staffing problems are solved.

 

[NoJoy]

That is a really good point, and it is the way it should be written if the retirement age is increased. If pilots want to fly beyond 60, then they should go back to the right seat. This is good for safety, upgrades within the airline, and the company can save $ as well.

 

[PCL_128]

Any of those made since the differences were hammered out 14 Nov?

I believe so, but I'm too lazy to go look for the articles.

 

[Andy]

The bill hasn't been put in front of Bush. Bush just vetoed the Labor, HHS, Education, and related agencies bill.

 

[jonjuan]

I've made this proposal to ALPA and my State Reps. that Age 60 should pass but the person over 60 can't act as PIC. Thus the person moves back to the right seat much like they did when we still had engineers. It's a win win for everyone. FO's still upgrade ontime, the guy over 60 can still fly and make cash and the airlines staffing problems are solved.

Would you propose this back when you were at a regional airline trying to get hired by a major airline?
Now that you're there, it's time to pull the ladder up. Also, what about stagnant FO seniority? How is this proposal a "win win?"
Do you also want regional airline pilots to do everything they can to keep aircraft over 50 seats at the major level?

 

[SRJ]

I am curious what the ICAO work rules are compared with ours. If you say that we should mirror their retirement age then shouldn't we look at what type of work rules they have also? Are they allowed to fly 1000 hours a year? How much vacation do they see in a year? I am willing to gamble that they are in better health at 60 than US pilots. Look at the big picture. Keep 60 as the retirement for US pilots.

 

[AKMD80GUY]

Would you propose this back when you were at a regional airline trying to get hired by a major airline?
Now that you're there, it's time to pull the ladder up. Also, what about stagnant FO seniority? How is this proposal a "win win?"
Do you also want regional airline pilots to do everything they can to keep aircraft over 50 seats at the major level?

Very good questions.
First: When I was at a regional the issues that are before us now were not there then. It's a different ballgame now. I upgraded as soon as I could and built PIC time as fast as I could.

Second: Now that I'm "There", has nothing to do with me trying to pull the ladder up or stagnant FO seniority. It has quite the opposite effect infact. Those on the outside looking in still have to wait for the seat to open wether it's a senior FO or a over 60 Captain moving back. Same number of pilots in the same number of seats. Also having a Captain being forced to the right seat may persuade him/her to go ahead and retire.

Third: I don't want regional pilots to fly anything over 70 seats and here's why. First off there is nothing "Regional" about a 70 seat jet with a 3,000 mile range. The only reason we have these are because management can get more people to fly greater distances with cheaper labor. Thats economics 101.
We now have RJ's flying upward of 100 people. Next thing you know a 737 will be an RJ.

Flying a big jet at turboprop wages doesn't make a you a big airline pilot.

 

[Andy]

Andy,
According to the govtrack link, the senate already approved the differences and it is now up to the President. What am I missing?
Don't get me wrong, I hope this bill gets a veto. Just trying to stay up to date

Lumax, we're talking the Transportation Bill. aka porkbarrel bill. This is the appropriations bill where Sen Stevens got his infamous 'Bridge to Nowhere.' There is NO appropriations bill more pork laden than the transportation bill. It's a slam dunk veto.

For those concerned about this bill, I recommend reading it, finding a big 'ol piece of pork in it (I'm sure that there are plenty), and oppose it due to that piece of pork. Opposing it due to the age 60 change will carry no weight with Congress - the age change is not an important issue to them, but pork is. Especially when one of their constituents points it out to their staff.

 

[Old School 737]

I think the "Bridge to Nowhere" finally got axed a while back?

Lumax, we're talking the Transportation Bill. aka porkbarrel bill. This is the appropriations bill where Sen Stevens got his infamous 'Bridge to Nowhere.' There is NO appropriations bill more pork laden than the transportation bill. It's a slam dunk veto.

For those concerned about this bill, I recommend reading it, finding a big 'ol piece of pork in it (I'm sure that there are plenty), and oppose it due to that piece of pork. Opposing it due to the age 60 change will carry no weight with Congress - the age change is not an important issue to them, but pork is. Especially when one of their constituents points it out to their staff.

 

[Andy]

I think the "Bridge to Nowhere" finally got axed a while back?

Yes and no. Alaska still received the $229 mil funding for the bridge, but the funds were no longer obligated specifically for the bridge. I can't say what other porkbarrel project got funded up in Alaska, but this is just one example of the porkbarreling that goes into the Transportation bill. There was a good newspaper article on porkbarrel spending recently and it basically said that the transportation bill is the granddaddy of porkbarreling.

 

[Daddy]

No way is the FAA getting a facelift after Bush vetoed that goofy kid's healthcare insurance