:rolleyes:

Surgeons don’t operate on patients by themselves. They’re assisted by entire teams of professionals.

They also don’t operate on 200 patients at the same time.

Edit: you can also pick your own surgeon. If I had the option to choose my pilots, I wouldn’t pick old ones.

lol no kidding.

I’m 100% an ageist when it comes to jobs that affect public safety. The reality is that age has detrimental affect on humans. The line has to be drawn somewhere.

Partners at the Big 4 accounting firms have a mandatory retirement age of 65. Big Law firms too, or at least most of them, I think.

Just an interesting data point for a profession that takes little physical ability or hand-eye coordination.

Private sector mandatory retirements were outlawed back in the 80's.

Exception for safety sensitive positions, where it can proven that age makes an appreciable difference. That's legally very hard to prove in private sector... which is why no airlines try to retire pilots before 65. Legally they might actually be able to, but it's a high bar... perhaps argue that their specific schedules are more difficult than what the FAA accounted for with the 65 age limit.

Also exception for top executives. That's very strictly limited to people who really are top execs... ie you can't make your secretary a VP so you can "retire" her to be replaced by a 20-something with better secretarial endowments.

Friend of mine was a Vice President of a major engineering and construction firm. Being head of engineering of a major project, he reached mandatory retirement as a VP at 65.

Then assumed the title of senior engineering manager, doing the same work. Finally he elected to really retire at age 77. His second wife reached 65, and retired as a teacher. Last I heard, they are traveling the world.

Most of the pilots I know that old are just trying to stay alive. Including my grandfather that lost two mainline pensions and retired at 60.

They might not. But if they did, for the same reason 1st year pay increases, hotels during training, there’s no more “pay for training airlines” etc. Numbers……They need qualified bodies to move metal. Some seem to think that the only logical way to increase the number of qualified pilots flying is to lower the age, lower, the experience requirements, help pay for their ratings, etc…. That’s A way. It’s the least expensive way…. At least for now…. But, at some point…. Maybe…. a CEO says “If I could hang on to a few hundred typed, experienced pilots who still pass their checkride and medical, for a couple extra years, it’d sure help me keep the metal moving the way I want…. Even if it costs me more in pay and bennies.”

There’s a bottom threshold, there’s an upper threshold. And it won’t be decided by folks wanting to hang on to a seat, or kick one out of one.

Well, you don't, just like you don't have the option to pick if they got the V.

Just don’t fly out of IAH