Age 70 coming to an airline near you!

[hyflyin]

thats because these A holes are only working 10-15 days a month and making 200k a year. What an awesome retirement job! When they want a longer stretch off, they just take one of the 4 weeks of vacation they have! I agree with the 65 rule, how else will survive when I am 65 having been a regional pilot my entire career because of this industry.

Don't worry you won't. The majors are "takin it back". Apparently its your fault that RJs wound up flying the majority of US flying. What cracks me up, is that Alpa is collecting dues from regional pilots and using that money to pay the lawyers/ representatives/national who are now trying to help mainline bring the flying back that THEY lost. Nothing like paying your union to put you on the street.... Interesting concept. Can't believe somewhere in there is a severe conflict of interest.

Good luck, I feel for you brother, the street is cold.

 

[P38JLightning]

What cracks me up, is that Alpa is collecting dues from regional pilots and using that money to pay the lawyers/ representatives/national who are now trying to help mainline bring the flying back that THEY lost. Nothing like paying your union to put you on the street.... Interesting concept. Can't believe somewhere in there is a severe conflict of interest.

That is no more of a conflict than the mainline pilots paying dues to ALPA to help outsource all that flying to begin with. So the worst case from a regional lifer's perspective is that mainlines take back the flying they owned anyway. Regionals are ALWAYS free to try an Indy Air or a Republix Air Group experiment and see if it works. Then, if they so chose, regional pilots can allow outsourcing of planes to the legacy/major/mainline airlines for as little or as long as they want.

 

[hyflyin]

That is no more of a conflict than the mainline pilots paying dues to ALPA to help outsource all that flying to begin with.

.

WHAT???? How did Alpa help outsource flying??? Maybe through very poor leadership?? I guess that is what your getting at.

I don't like what mainline did and definitely think the flying should come back for the good of the career, but a house divided will not stand. And brother, this house is divided and will be for years to come. Definitely not healthy for this career or the union.

 

[Beaver79]

Shouldn't be able to captain >60

bring the experience- but decisions should be left to younger minds- pilots are too prideful to know when to hang it up

Ah - arrogance. Fits just with the teet sucker generation. I work with quite a few 60+ year olds in and out of flying. The vast MAJORITY are very sharp. The minority are walking around confused.

 

[Nindiri]

thats because these A holes are only working 10-15 days a month and making 200k a year. What an awesome retirement job! When they want a longer stretch off, they just take one of the 4 weeks of vacation they have! I agree with the 65 rule, how else will survive when I am 65 having been a regional pilot my entire career because of this industry.

Yeah, it's a great gig. Life is good.

 

[Linedriver]

70 won't happen - for several years anyway. Have to get over the 65 hangover and then take a breather.

 

[waveflyer]

ehh don't worry about Indude- he's playing his FI character and is pretty good at it most times-

Ah - arrogance. Fits just with the teet sucker generation. I work with quite a few 60+ year olds in and out of flying. The vast MAJORITY are very sharp. The minority are walking around confused.

and that's why they can be FOs - stay in the flight deck and give aviation the benefit of experience- but they ought not be captains. There will be pilots whose skills will deteriorate- let the younger but also very experienced keep a watch out. The ONLY other option will be increased medical standards as we age- and we should ALL worry about that happening.

 

[P38JLightning]

WHAT???? How did Alpa help outsource flying??? Maybe through very poor leadership?? I guess that is what your getting at.

I don't like what mainline did and definitely think the flying should come back for the good of the career, but a house divided will not stand. And brother, this house is divided and will be for years to come. Definitely not healthy for this career or the union.

I agree the current system is not only harmful to everyone, it was born from ignorance, arrogance, greed, ego and fear. But the solution starts and ends with the mainline groups getting their houses in order. The trend of outsourcing needs to not only stop growing, but it needs to be reversed and the ONLY way to accomplish that is for mainline pilot groups to place it as the number one bargaining room priority. Fixing the issue has to come from the mainlines, because the regionals don't own one seat of the flying they do. The mainlines do own it and are free to bargain for it all back if they so chose to pay for it. The regionals can't bargain for one seat of outsourced flying other than bidding to be the cheapest and hoping their company wins the next CPA RFP.

Mainlines started the mistake, it is up to mainlines to fix it.

 

[pilotyip]

walking around confused?

Ah - arrogance. Fits just with the teet sucker generation. I work with quite a few 60+ year olds in and out of flying. The vast MAJORITY are very sharp. The minority are walking around confused.

and there is no under age 60 displaying this same walking around confused? If we really want to do this retirement age correctly in the name of safety, we take the age of pilot that experiences an in-flight incapacitation, say a heart attack at age 47, and that becomes the new retirement age. BTW Never mind that this 47 year old pilot, smoked, weighted 300 pounds, 38% body fat, Type two diabetic, and had a sleep disorder. Remember this is about age and has nothing to do with an individual's condition.

 

[fullsail]

I wonder how many of you pro Age 70 guys are furloughed right now? Thanks guys...just what I need....extend my furlough by yet another 5 years...great.

 

[Yuppyguppy]

won't happen anytime soon

 

[waveflyer]

We shouldn't be apathetic like last time though.
And IMO we ought to create a movement to limit ALL captain slots to < 60 year olds.

 

[NotTooBad]

Notice all of the "70 is OK with me" responses coming from the 10000+ hr crew. The baby boomers are the most greedy, self-important, soon-to-be drags on society group to ever exist. They have been handed the strongest economic growth in the history of the world, and most have p!ssed it all away. Now my three young children, who will struggle to ever find gainful employment, will have to pay for all of their greed and waste. Congratulations to you, you have made us all "very proud".

box

I laughed

 

[AKAAB]

Maybe everyone is missing the one advantage this could bring to everyone - Loss of License insurance payouts go to your mandatory retirement age. Think about it...five more years of a decent paycheck when you can't pass the physical at 65.

Sure, a small number of geezers will hold on, but in the end it the cost will be exorbitant.

Just trying to find a good angle on a bad idea...

 

[KigAir]

70 + Single Pilot Flights = Living on the edge.

 

[inline]

Long overdue.

 

[inline]

and there is no under age 60 displaying this same walking around confused? If we really want to do this retirement age correctly in the name of safety, we take the age of pilot that experiences an in-flight incapacitation, say a heart attack at age 47, and that becomes the new retirement age. BTW Never mind that this 47 year old pilot, smoked, weighted 300 pounds, 38% body fat, Type two diabetic, and had a sleep disorder. Remember this is about age and has nothing to do with an individual's condition.

Right on the money.

 

[P38JLightning]

Right on what money? We're talking about trends and actuarials here. Sure, some people short circut in their 50's. Some remain razor sharp into their 90's. An age cutoff is not meant to be the one and only catch-all. There is no way to test everyone for everything every single day. Spare us the civil rights nonsense too. There are plenty of completely justified age cutoffs all through out society, both min and max. We only did 65 because the EU crowd did. They aren't changing to 70 and neither are we, nor should we. All those forced out at 65 got to enjoy 5 years in the bonus round they didn't earn after benefiting from age 60 for 100% of their careers. That is enough of a windfall, it will not be extended again.

 

[pilotyip]

Right on what money? We're talking about trends and actuarials here. Sure, some people short circut in their 50's. Some remain razor sharp into their 90's. An age cutoff is not meant to be the one and only catch-all. There is no way to test everyone for everything every single day. Spare us the civil rights nonsense too. There are plenty of completely justified age cutoffs all through out society, both min and max. We only did 65 because the EU crowd did. They aren't changing to 70 and neither are we, nor should we. All those forced out at 65 got to enjoy 5 years in the bonus round they didn't earn after benefiting from age 60 for 100% of their careers. That is enough of a windfall, it will not be extended again.

We could develop mental, physical, and cognitive testing. We could set certain standards, like + 100' while handing flying, + 10 Kts during an approach, etc. Then we would test the pilots on a regular basis to see they still have the skills. Now increase this testing we would not only make the Captains take this test, but we would observe them on a regular trip to see how they integrate all of the functions of running a trip. If pilot doesn't pass these, regardless of age he is all done flying. This would eliminate all this age talk.

 

[rettofly]

What is it with these a##holes! All of a sudden, everyone wants to work till they drop dead. Whatever happened to enjoying your golden years like everyone else does. Give it a break already, shoot. If you want to fly so damn bad, get by a friggin rc airplane and fly that.

Maybe they feel like they need to work till they drop dead in an Obama world.

 

[Flopgut]

We could develop mental, physical, and cognitive testing. We could set certain standards, like + 100' while handing flying, + 10 Kts during an approach, etc. Then we would test the pilots on a regular basis to see they still have the skills. Now increase this testing we would not only make the Captains take this test, but we would observe them on a regular trip to see how they integrate all of the functions of running a trip. If pilot doesn't pass these, regardless of age he is all done flying. This would eliminate all this age talk.

Do you realize if your posts on FI were at all a test of your cognitive abilities you would be failing.....

Do all that stuff you write, and it's still not safer than 60 was. 40 year rule that functioned flawlessly.... Abandoned for the financial needs of a very few.... Sad. Not what we're supposed to be doing in this business.

 

[pilotyip]

Do you realize if your posts on FI were at all a test of your cognitive abilities you would be failing.....

You are taking this way too seriously, it was a sarcastic post to address testing for pilots ability to be in a cockpit. In the end every decision is made in the best economic interest of the individual, Adam figured that our 230 years ago. BTW Should I have put a smiley face at the end to ensure the true meaning was understood?

 

[Flopgut]

Yes, a smiley would have helped......

You have to admit, that post rambled a bit.

 

[waveflyer]

And it isn't far off the mark- corporate and cargo can afford to let pilots fly til they're old- their crashes and incidents may be just as important to you and me- but the public scrutinizes airline crashes 10000 times more. Just ask how long our UPS fallen brothers would be in the news if that were a -400 full of people...

Age 65 at some point will bring increased scrutiny to medical standards- it's just a matter of statistics catching up

 

[Midnight Flyer]

70 y/o airline pilots is rediculous. Hang up your hat, bow out gracefully and let the younger guys have their heyday. I can see it now, crusty old pilots hobbling down the jetway pushing their walkers.
I'm sure the guys flying with these old farts love being subjected to extra line checks all the time.
I'm outta here at 60.

 

[Mamma]

We could develop mental, physical, and cognitive testing. We could set certain standards, like + 100' while handing flying, + 10 Kts during an approach, etc. Then we would test the pilots on a regular basis to see they still have the skills. Now increase this testing we would not only make the Captains take this test, but we would observe them on a regular trip to see how they integrate all of the functions of running a trip. If pilot doesn't pass these, regardless of age he is all done flying. This would eliminate all this age talk.

As long as you do the test at 2am after the pilot has worked for 12 hours four days in a row.

 

[vetrider]

I think this has a good chance of being pushed through. The crybaby lobby will get all kinds of support, and when Sully signs off on it, game over.

 

[whymeworry?]

Every non-pilot I know in their late 50s can't wait until 60-62 when they will retire. Every retired person I know is 60+. Nobody I know works until 70. What's the point?

I do know one guy who is over 65, a VP of Safety, and still working. His attitude sucks. He needs to quit but his ego won't let him. Makes it miserable for his coworkers. He thinks he is respected but he isn't. He's more less out to lunch. But he has no life so he continues to work... all the while reminding everyone how he has plenty of money and doesn't need the job.

What is it with pilots and retirement these days? Why work till 70? Retirement is just that. Something you reward yourself with after 40+ yrs of working.

I have so many hobbies that sometimes I forget I'm an airline pilot when not at work. This ain't the career it use to be and it certainly isn't worth hanging on past 65. For me, I can't wait till 60; will try to get out sooner if I can.

Get a life, guys. Really. Ya' can't take it all with you when you die. And no matter what, you will die sooner than later. So enjoy life while you can.

I guess some people just can't figure out how to enjoy life.

 

[Lynxman]

^^^ Good post

 

[waveflyer]

^^^that