Originally Posted by
Excargodog
Not so. What is changed is that AA has gotten rid of a lot of aircraft and has deferred a lot that were inbound. That and that AA has got a lot of guys on furlough who will likely be right back on furlough in three months.
A smaller fleet and 1500+ individuals the company MUST hire before they can flow even a single person from their regionals is NOT the situation that existed preCOVID.
What you just described, and 10 months worth of early retirements, just described a delay of when the big retirement wave will be back in full swing. Delay, not elimination. It will still be happening in a few years. Age 65 is still going to happen over the next decade for close to 2/3 of the pilots.
Incidentally, the aircraft AA got rid of were all in their plans to send to the desert. Most are over 20 years. They just moved them up a few years. They are to be replaced by those on order that have been differed. Check back in a few years down the line, they will have taken them.