I always think it's stupid when old guys complain about "the younger generation". There's nothing more perennial than one generation lamenting how hard they had it when they were young while pointing out today's youth are spoiled and ungrateful.

But here I go.


This GenXer rotted away in a right seat after 9/11 which literally put 10s of thousands of ATPs with 121 experience on the street.
I rotted away in the right seat during the financial crisis of 08/09 and everyone's 401ks shrunk 50%..
And then I rotted some more when Age 65 was implemented (while there were literally 10s of thousands of ATPs with 121 experience on the street, in case you missed that part).

It was a rotten time to be a pilot.

Today is different.

The market for pilots is historical. This is truly a once in a career opportunity. The Age 67 proposal is a stupid short term political move by the airlines to buy just a little more time to help out their staffing.

All the unions are opposed to Age 67 and they should be. Unions should protect the greater good and there are simply more pilots younger than 63 than age 64. But, if this thing passes, it will just be a blip over the entire arc of a 30 year career. In 20 years no one will even refer back to it like we do with 9/11 and the Lost Decade.

The Millennials will be just fine. They'll be just fine until single pilot airliners become a material threat to their careers. Then they will watch their ranks, pay and benefits become decimated at the hands of the bean counters. But I'll be well dead and desiccated at that point. My advice, have a Plan B when the robots come for your jobs.