Originally Posted by
Andy
The funny thing about this topic is that some pilots actually think that we have a say in this matter. Nothing individual pilots do, nor what ALPA does, will make any difference.
Congress is looking at a shortage of pilots and flight cancellations. A quick, easy way to address this shortage is to increase retirement age. I'd say lowering minimums, but Duckworth already made it clear that's unlikely.
To use a terribly inappropriate remark from Clayton Williams: "If it's inevitable, just relax and enjoy it".
We don't have any say in this matter.
When it went from 60-65 we wrote letters, harassed congressman, ALPA took a poll and was decisively against raising the age, there were people on furlough from the majors at the time and the industry was chock full of pilots, yet at the last minute, ALPA said, sorry, it's going to happen so were now for it so we can help shape it (ie make sure all the recently retired pilots can come back on top). So Andy is correct. This is controlled by forces that dwarf anything ALPA and/or pilots can control.