Originally Posted by
oldmako
Good luck with that. I can hear it now, "being on LTD is a choice". "Why should I have to pay for those who didn't take care of themselves" etc. Pay rates are everything to (almost) everyone. You could drive a TT through some of the sections of our contract.
Some truth to that ...but how many pilots believe so strongly in their future good health that they choose not to carry LTD, or medical insurance for that matter ? Accidents and illness can happen at any moment and I think most of us realize being in perfect "First Class Medical" health until age 65 is nowhere near guaranteed. I once heard that 50% of the pilots do not make it to retirement age....I doubt that statistic but it made me want to ensure that I had adequate LTD coverage since day one.
Would pilots give up a few dollars of pay rates for a better LTD package....? Maybe, but keep in mind it's self funded ....so it's really about monthly premiums.