Originally Posted by
mcdonald
Interesting. Is there any chatter about ICAO raising again? Or are they not having the same challenges across the pond that we are?
I had concluded that while this would only be kicking the can down the road, it would slow things down for a bit which would help stabilize the regionals--and management would want that. I am also surprised the longest tenured pilots wouldn't want the option to keep going for a couple more years given the money they would make.
Yes, there are ICAO rumblings, many parts of the world have looming pilot shortages, although covid pushed the reckoning to the right a bit.
Two more years would help the airlines mitigate the shortage, give them some breathing room but not a whole lot... my swag is that only maybe 50% of pilots would be both willing and able to go past 65.
But the US airlines are actually opposed, at least the big ones. General consensus is it will cost them way too much in LTD payments... many folks go out well before age 65, so this would be another two years tacked on for the LTD legion. It's not a tiny demographic.
Pilots who are happy and comfortable in their current seniority might not mind getting an opportunity to work (or collect LTD) for two more years. Many pilots are opposed if they feel they'll get stuck in a less-than-ideal position for two years (really it would be one year at the most).