AC & Westjet retirements
 

Anybody know what the retirement situation is in Canada at the big two? I understand the age 65 isn't going to happen up there. I'm just curious what attrition will like for the next few years.

Cheers

Pretty sure that's incorrect info on the Canada age 60/65 thing. In fact US pilots are getting Canadian licences because so foreign countries want an over 60 expats to have a licence that is still valid in their home country.

What I don't get is that if you're a US pilot and get the Canadian licenses you still need a Canadian Passport or Canadian Permanent Resident Card. I'm guessing both are next to impossible to get for a US resident, so without one of these what good is the Canadian license?

You only need a Canadian Passport or resident card if you are planning to work in Canada.I should have written "valid in the licences country of origin".

Well from what I understand just in the past few days the Human Rights Tribunal in Canada ruled that you may not act as PIC at 60 or SIC at 65. I'll grant that this doesn't mean it's necessarily dead.

Anyway, back to my original question. Any idea what the attrition at Air Canada is like now and in the near future?

Cheers

http://www.avcanada.ca/forums2/

You'll find the answers on there, just check in the Air Canada and WestJet sections.

One thread near the top of the AC forum has the retirement numbers listed in it.

As far as I know, WestJet has barely any retirements for the next 5-7, but then a decent number start retiring. Most hiring there right now is fueled by growth.

The tribunal for the age 60 ruling with Air Canada recently came to a conclusion.. age 60 rule stays status quo for Air Canada. WestJet you can go as SIC till 65, and that's the same situation with Jazz I'm pretty sure.

Right now we have several pilots that are over 60 and are flying as PIC. Thye were flying SIC up until about a year ago when the ICAO rules changed. They have special pairings built that don't fly into or over the US (how they manage that reamains a mystery). As far as retirements go, I would think that they will be slow for the next 10 years and then pick up drastically unless the stock goes above $30 then retirements will be rather big.