Airline Pilot Central Forums - Retirement age 67

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy (Post 3424514)

I'd like to see that at United, but since we have a lot of pilots who retire with 500+ hours in their sick banks, why would the company allow pilots to cash that out?

Those are the guys who would fail a cognitive test. You’d have to be brain dead to retire with any time in your sick bank. We had one that retired in IAH with something like 1,100 hrs in his bank….AND HE WAS PROUD OF IT. Red Foreman from That 70’s show had a word for people like that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hedley (Post 3424564)

Of course he was proud of it. He helped 'save' the company. :rolleyes: I've flown with several like him.

Ironically, at 90 hrs/mo, he could have been on SL for his last 14 months before retirement. Or just call in sick for one trip a month and pick up one extra trip per month for the last couple of years.

This will cause more problems than it solves. Bureaucracy will show its ugly head as a result of placing a band-aid on a bullet wound. Which, if it is coming down the pipe, I'll agree to end of calender year at age 65, domestic only. C'mon what's the appreciable difference between up to 365 days vs 2 years anyway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy (Post 3424512)

I saw that on CNBC this AM. I think he knows exactly where pilots stand on an age change and just said that to please the bulk of United pilots.
How much would he reap in training savings if he squeezed another two years out of each pilot?

I very much doubt that. How many additional costs would he absorb by keeping people on disability for 2 to 3 more years? Clearly a diminishing return there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy (Post 3424512)

No, there are a lot of retirements happening at the big 3. Plus they're trying to grow. I don't have the number of retirements for 2022 at United, but it's likely in excess of 400.

Delta, United, and American alone are each trying to hire 2000 or more people a year for the time being. Retirements account for MAYBE 20% of that. That pace will inevitably wind down over the next year or so whether age 67 happens or not. Very little benefit there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickair7777 (Post 3424351)

We'll see. In 2007 they adapted to to the prevailing winds...

"As the wheels of FAA rulemaking grind inexorably forward, the nation’s largest union of airline pilots executed a 180-degree turn on mandatory retirement for airline pilots at age 60. In late May, the executive board of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) voted by an 80-percent margin to end its four-decade opposition to any efforts to raise the limit. The union said that in the face of concerted efforts to change the rule by Congress and the FAA, the executive board directed that union resources be committed to protecting pilot interests by exerting ALPA’s influence in any rule change."

Will ALPA prefer to be party to the process once again? Or risk being relegated to outsider obstructionist status? The older guys who tend to make up top union leadership have a vested interest in avoiding additional medical screening for older pilots... especially if it were to get applied under age 65 :eek:

Also the politics are more complicated that just "Dems Love Labor", there's also the age-ism aspect (consider the top Dem leadership for a moment :rolleyes: ). Also the risk of a summer-long travel meltdown right before mid-terms. Would age 67 prevent that? Probably not. Would it appear that politicians are doing some thing, anything? Yes.

2007 was a bit different. DAL and UAL had terminated (not frozen) their pensions in bankruptcy. ICAO had already raised the retirement age. So yes, ALPA switched positions to have a voice in the coming legislation. And I mean coming like a freight train. The only catalyst this time is a perceived pilot shortage. So like I said, IF and only IF ALPA does not switch positions, good luck getting Age 67 legislation past this Congress. Maybe next year after the November elections, but even then, Joe "Union" Biden will have to sign it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickair7777 (Post 3424351)

A bit of irony that your qualified to be US president (or 2/3 of our federal govt for that matter) at age 79 but not fly a multi piloted aircraft....

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Originally Posted by nene (Post 3424728)

A bit of irony that your qualified to be US president (or 2/3 of our federal govt for that matter) at age 79 but not fly a multi piloted aircraft....

Historical artifact. Commander in Chief was a much more arms length, hands off duty 200 years ago... a general had to ride on a horse for two weeks just to consult with the boss.

Today they can wake POTUS up at 0230, tell him the rooskies just launched the big one and he has 90 seconds to decide what to do. Should have an age limit of 75 or so... on the day he/she LEAVES office. Just from a national security perspective.

I understand the angst against moving up the retirement age. I hope it gets raised for one simple reason. I would like to get on an airliner, after paying a high price to do so, and ACTUALLY BE ON TIME! I am so sick of hearing about No crew! Yes, I know this is the airlines fault. Yes I know they saw this coming. Neither of those things solves my problem as a consumer. Raising the age, even if only temporary, and for domestic only, gives them 2 years to catch up.

The word is out that being a commercial pilot pays well. Flight schools are filling up. The pipelines will be full in a couple of years. An age increase would allow the majors to stop hiring pilots away from the regionals at such a fast clip, allowing the regionals to catch up to the training gap. This would be a great thing for the industry and the consumer. Obviously a bad thing for the current pilots waiting to move forward.

The lost decade gets hosed yet again. 7-8 total years of stagnant career progression only to be met with single pilot ops towards the end of their careers. This is a giant NO from me. If you’re 64 it’s time for you to retire and enjoy the rest of your life not boning everyone underneath you on the seniority list.

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Originally Posted by JackStraw (Post 3425017)

Lost gen will not experience single pilot ops in the US. Unless maybe they fly a caravan.