Southwest Pilots Aggressively Push Age 65

[AA767AV8TOR]

Senate panel sympathetic to Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co. won victories from a U.S. Senate panel Tuesday, which voted to expand destinations the carrier can serve from Dallas Love Field and raise the retirement age for pilots.

Limits on Southwest destinations from Love would be lifted in eight years, and the carrier could immediately connect Love passengers to airports throughout the United States, under a bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee's transportation panel.

The $69 billion budget legislation approved Tuesday in Washington also requires the Federal Aviation Administration to raise the mandatory retirement age for all airline pilots to 65 from 60. Dallas-based Southwest has been a major proponent of raising the age so it's pilots could work longer.

The FAA since 1959 has required that airline pilots retire at 60, saying a higher age could hurt safety.

From Bloomberg, AP, staff reports




With some of the highest paid pilots in the industry, why are the Southwest pilots so aggressively pursuing the increase in age to 65? If their retirement isn’t good enough, instead of hosing the rest of us, why doesn’t SWAPA just negotiate a better retirement at their company?

AA767AV8TOR

 

['LUVIN LIFE]

It's not a matter of retirement packages, it's a matter of principle. Why should we let foreign pilots fly in our airspace up to 65 but we can't?

I must say though, I don't agree with the language that the FO needs to be less than 60. To me that just says there is a health/safety problem, otherwise why should one care how old the FO is? That restriction needs to be removed because it's contradictory to the argument.

And oh, the whole Wright Amendment thing, life is good!

 

[HalinTexas]

Highest paid? Yep, but no pension plan.

AMR and CAL, and maybe a few others have one, but I bet they won't last long.

I'm one of the many that have never had, nor will ever have a pension plan.

I have a feeling now that those who are opposed to raising the age already have a plan, and are beholden to ALPA, APA et. al. to keep it. I bet they change their minds soon.

 

[AA767AV8TOR]

I must say though, I don't agree with the language that the FO needs to be less than 60.
Luvin Life


Luvin,

Exactly my point. Congress is ramming this down our throats and no one has thought this thing through. Since you guys want this so much, can you explain the scheduling ramifications of this? From bidding on monthly schedules, to picking up, to reserve, it will abrogate a lot of seniority. What happens to the senior copilots (over 60) when the senior captains bid all the great lines. Do they get super seniority?

At a high growth carrier such as LUV, it shouldn’t be much of a problem, but at the legacies, it will create a nightmare scheduling problem.

What about all the guys between 60 and 65 that will be suing to get back on the property??

What happens to the pension plans??

We had a built in early retirement and you guys are flushing it down the drain. If you must fly – go overseas. Thanks a lot for screwing your buddy. As the profession continues to spiral down, all we have to do is look in the mirror to see the enemy.

AA767AV8TOR
767 FO an additional five years!!

 

[D-Bo]

[quote='LUVIN LIFE]It's not a matter of retirement packages, it's a matter of principle. Why should we let foreign pilots fly in our airspace up to 65 but we can't?
[/quote]


That's a terrible argument. Is that the best you've got? Try again without sounding 12 years old.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

SWA.. Age 65 and the Wright Ammendment.. political issues solved on CapHill. Every airline has a gov;t affairs dept. Do the pilots? Yeah... ALPA/APA/SWAPA etc...

 

[Stan]

How old was the Captain in MDW that couldn't get the reverser's deployed and the FO did after 18 seconds?

 

[mdf]

I have been silently neutral on this issue for a while. I did see something the other day in the SWAPA paper that chapped my arse. There was a picture of some pilots on capital hill lobbying for the repeal. One was a United guy who I have seen around. He went to my college, and used to come in and speak when I was there. I looked him up in an alumni publication, and saw his hire date. Are you ready for this: 1969. WTF over. Guys he's shooting for 40 freaking years or something.

 

[zonker]

Nothing like flying 80 hours a month until you drop dead.

 

[SWA/FO]

Just think, some of you guys will have 5 extra years to try and get a job at Southwest Airlines. If that chaps your a$$ you'll have 5 more years to get a real freight job.

Some might still have the same outcome, cus your tools and some might get on like the SWA/FO did. I can't speak for the real freight jobs out there.... where the real money and real pilots work.