Originally Posted by
Hedley
Age 67 would be much harder to sell if it was a stand alone proposal, however it was simply inserted into a larger bill. To most politicians the issue is nothing but additional pork that they’ll ignore while focusing on the parts of the bill that serve their interest. It’s likely going to pass and we can’t do much about that.
So how does the union respond? If other regulatory authorities don’t immediately match us, do we pass a LOA that allows the company to drop trips without pay for pilots who are no longer legal to fly the trip? Considering that all fleets fly international to some degree, the impact on staffing could be a real mess.
I disagree. There are a ton of pilot shortage news stories out there that are saying it's one of the causes for air transportation problems. And from various reads and comments I've read, the general public is strongly in favor of increasing pilot retirement age.
It's pretty much a no-brainer for politicians. I'm even expecting Sen Duckworth's (D-IL) act that she'll attach to the FAA Reauthorization Act to include the change to age 67. Ds are in favor of an age increase; they just have to placate their ALPA donors at the moment.