Originally Posted by
Fillmore Slim
Don't forget about the harm you put your body through during your time on the road. Sub standard catering and lack of sleep for half the month wrecks your body. I've seen plenty of walking zombies in Narita, ICN, etc. I've also had two Captains just quit and walk off the airplane because of the schedule changes.. I don't know how line guys even make it to 65. Someone should study them.
I retired early from Atlas and it was like turning the "how I feel" meter back 15 years. It is hard to imagine what slogging through the Atlas meatgrinder on the 74 to my 65th birthday would have been like.
My family doc is also a lot happier with how things look. Not that things looked horrifically bad, but test results that were "OK for a 60 year old but....[insert lecture about diet/exercise/sleep]" are now normal and/or below average risk.
I had bid the 76 as a 60th birthday present to myself, but that did not fix anything since Scheduling would not leave me alone. 'OK to fold, bend spindle and mutate" must have been at the top of my schedule in big red letters.