Finally - Justification to Raise Age 60

[klhoard]

Career path of a XXXXXXX Airlines pilot

30 years old. Join Company. World is your Oyster.

31 years. Buy Flash Car, House and lots of toys. Get over that GA/Military poverty feeling.

32 years. Divorce boring first wife. Pay Child support and maintenance whilst looking for
second wife. Drink lots of beer and screw around whilst looking for second wife.

33 years. Repeat as above for a few more years.

36 years. Marry young spunky 25 year old virgin 'host-a-tute'.

37 years. Buy another house. Gave first one to wife 1.

38 years. Give in to second wife to have more kids. Father again.

39 years. Now a Captain. Hooray! Upgrade house and buy boat and flashier cars.

42 years. Wife two runs off with wealthy merchant banker but still
wants share of house (100%).

43 years. Settle with wife and resolve to stay away from women forever.
Seek appointment as Check Captain to have something to do.
Move into two Bed Apartment.

50 years. Meet sexy singer on a trip. She loves you and says you very beeeg.
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Continued. . . .
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[klhoard]

51 years. Marry sexy singer. Buy big house, boat and upgrade cars.

52 years. Sexy singer wants kids (not again). Resolve to get vasectomy.

54 years. Try to talk wife out of kids but hey presto shes pregnant. Says got
sick after taking pill. Accident, sorry, wont happen again.

55 years. Father of triplets.

56 years. Wife wants very big house, bigger boat and very flash cars.
Give in.

57 years. Make rash investments to try and have enough money for retirement.

59 Years. Lose money on rash investments and get audited by tax department.

60 Years. Wife three says you too old and no fun. Leaves.
Takes most of your assets.

61 Years. Now Captain on 767 and living in 1 bedroom company title
flat at Macquarie Fields.

65 Years. Lose medical and get job as sim instructor.
Look forward to years of getting up at 1 AM.

70 years. Alarm clock goes off at 1 AM. Have heart attack and die.

Happy at last!

 

[PastFastMover]

klhoard,

I hope this is not your bio and you are 69 3/4 years old.

 

[Goose17]

Sounds FUN!

I need to revise my plan.

Goose17

 

[blzr]

Funy, I know some guys who's life is playing out like that. Guess what, they ain't Regional guys. Their story has taken a different turn in the last couple of years though.

44. Due to large paycut andloss of retirement savings, loses young wife, house, boat, car, and kids. The wife doesn't want to live with someone she'll have to support on her secretary salary. Moves into a 1br apartment in downtown Atlanta where he barely scrapes enough money for rent and good cable tv. On a good month after picking up a trip or two, he may even be able to go out to dinner and afford one lap dance at the Cheeta 3. And He's just 44

 

[klhoard]

klhoard,

I hope this is not your bio and you are 69 3/4 years old.

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Not quite. . . I'm still looking for a 25 year old "host-a-tute"!!!
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[CF34-3B1]

**CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED**, I'm WAY behind schedule.........

 

[AlbieF15]

The issue really isn't whether or not its bad to be 60 without a pension or still needing to work...regardless of the poor decisions or bad luck that put them in that position.

The 2 big questions of the issue are A) whether or not in the aggregrate allowing pilots to fly past 60 is in the best interests of safety. (Of course, we all know 45 year olds who have keeled over and guys who flew GA or 135 into their 70s...so we are talking macro here) and B) It is fair to penalize every pilot who is NOT close to retirement for the financial benefit of those who are? The argument of "well...YOUR career will be longer too" is moot for those who had always planned to retire at 60 (or earlier) anyway. You are basically taking money from the junior guys so that the senior guys can extend their career 2-5 more years, and severely delaying any upgrades and associated pay raises. Q of life due to bidding is also seriously affected.

I know KL was just having some fun, but dismissing the issue as "smart guys can retire at 60 and guys who were dumb cannot..." just isn't the case.

You want my perfect world? Put these over 60 guys into management and training positions where there expereince is invaluable. Pay them a very fair wage for their services. I've helped several retired guys get ready for professional instructor positions at several airlines, and it sure seems like a win/win for both parties.

 

[ilinipilot]

What about the furlough guys who will have to wait an extra 5 years to get recalled.

D

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

What about the furlough guys who will have to wait an extra 5 years to get recalled.

D

They will make it up on the other end. At a higher payscale. It is a shift.

 

[Double Shot]

They will make it up on the other end. At a higher payscale. It is a shift.

Please...Get real

 

[sandman2122]

I recently did the APLA survey (voted NO of course to any change in the age 60 policy) and one of the questions addressed "would I support restricting schedules for pilots over 60 to only to fly certain domestic trips".....more or less that was the question.

I answered heck NO to that! If someone wants to fly past 60, then they will fly any and all regular trips out there. Wether it's night hubs turns, red eye's, long haul international, day out and backs, morning out and backs, etc.......the ALPA tact was to try to make it "safer for all" by not allowing over 60 guys to fly the "demanding trips".

No scheduling restrictions, they fly what they can hold, no special scheduling parameters......

If these over 60 guys aren't healthy enough to fly any and all available scheduled trips, then maybe they're not healthy enough to fly at all past age 60.

 

[Bucky]

Dude,

If the pilot is over 60 they're going to be the senior dog on the block. They'll get to fly the cream pairings anyway.

bucky

 

[sandman2122]

I disagree. We've hire a lot of retired military guys who are 45-50 (I had a 54 year old in my new hire class 5 years ago). Also, look at the furloughed guys coming onbaord (at FedEx) a lot are 40+ ........you know, like a dinosaur!

 

[AA717driver]

klhoard--LMFAO! Man, I'm laughing so hard my chest hur

 

[PHXFLYR]

Klhoard;


Great post....I think I flew with this guy this week!!


PHXFLYR

 

[klhoard]

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I'm glad to see that some of you realized this was supposed to be a HUMOROUS thread.
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Unless, of course, you are "Mr. Beeeg"
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[Dinger]

Heck, I figure that if I haven't paid things off, put some dough away, and spent myself (mentally, of course) by the time I am 60......I should be fired for not planning better.

I have been "placed" back into the corporate side of things in the past few years and it amazes me how many 60 yr old retired pilots are flying corporate and charter. The first thing I think is why in the heck would anyone do that. The next thing that comes to mind is that they are occupying a covetted seat in the corporate world (that being of a Gulfstream or Challenger, etc.) I personally know a few of these guys and they are all very nice guys. It just makes you wonder.......

 

[Indapool]

so basically if one were to keep his dick in his pants he would walk away with his wallet intact??


sounds ALOT like life

 

[JetFumes]

What is it they say? I think it is, "If it floats, flies, or f#cks, its cheaper to rent!"

 

[Lear70]

Hit it right on the head jetFumes...

I've been around this industry all my life and watched many make the same decisions over and over again.

While it's all nice and fun to live that "wild life" again in your mid- to late- thirties, I for one would rather put up with my wife's crap from time to time in order to have:

a. unrestricted access to my kids
b. if a 2nd home has to be had, it's our vacation home (which will be paid off by the time I retire IF I don't divorce and have to live in it)
c. the ability to grow old with someone I know loves me because she married me when I was just living on $40k a year with a 4 year old car note and a mortgage.

That said, I've watched as my dad got screwed over at UAir 28 months before age 60, has to live on 1/4 of what his pension SHOULD have been, thinking he had 28 more months making $14,000 a month to finish paying off the house and car. Now he HAS to get another job.

Did he plan poorly? Not all marriages work out but the 2nd one he should have known better. No one knew what UAir was going to do to the pensions and that the goverenment wouldn't step in FULLY. He can still fly the aircraft, and I'm happy to stay at a regional another 3-5 years to give him the time he needs to get things the way they WOULD have been based on his ORIGINAL plan because, quite frankly, I would appreciate the same consideration.

The people screaming, "But I won't be able to get a job at a major for another 3 to 5 YEARS!!!" are the "ME-ME-ME" crybabies who will be crying the OTHER way when they're on the other end of the equation.

I'd agree with them if 9/11, BR cuts up to 50% of salaries, and pension terminations hadn't happen, but they did, so just suck it up; you'll get your turn.

 

[Dinger]

I hope you didn't think that I am crying about a major or am a "ME" type of person. I had the job, and I don't blame 9/11 on not having it anymore. I truly believe that most airline management is sooooo screwed up that the bankruptcies would still be happening today withpout the terrorist attacks.

My point was that if I am a pilot or a ditch digger, I really should have things wrapped up for retirement by the time I get to 60. I surely am not going to buy a house when I am 50 that cost so much that I am strapped for 10 years making mortgage payments (relying on 200k a year in an industry like ours).

Your story has a personal touch to it with your father. I imagine I would sacrifice a few years (more) if my dad where in that position. The one thing I have found out in this industry is that you have to look out for #1......your family. I don't have a whole lot of simpathy for the guys who put in 30 years at a legacy carrier and are now crying foul regarding the age 60 rule. They certainly benefitted in seniority when those above them had to hang their hats at 60.