Retirement
 

What's the likelihood of the FAA bumping up the mandatory retirement age to 70 to help bail out the airlines and the impending "perfect storm"of a "pilot shortage" that's looming on the horizon?

IMO not going to happen. There is no shortage. Just a reshuffling of the deck.

In Europe, there's a push to raise it to 67. It will take an ICAO change to make it happen in the US.

GF

Dude you can't be a pilot and smoke weed at the same time. Bring yourself down to earth, put the crack pipe down and sober up. The age 65 rule came in place to align themselves with ICAO, until ICAO makes it age 70 I wouldn't worry.

I think the there is a much better chance of multi crew licenses with limited flight time, ending the limits of foreign ownership of us airlines, and or international codesharing on a massive scale. None are good options but until pilots spend the $ to counter the lobbying it will be presented as a necessary evil.

You do realize crack isn't weed right?

Zero - the change would have to come through Congress.

Regardless, he's obviously high. ;)

Not going to happen for a while at the very least.

I wouldn't be surprised if there is some form of this though...i.e. SIC under 65 or one crew member over 65 if the other one is under 40...some random provision like that to keep em around.

In what time frame? ICAO isn't anywhere close to raising the limit, and that was the driving factor in the FAA raising it. Even on top of that it took a major effort and years to do. There will be an even greater fight this time against raising it.

Maybe a better question is; How many folks are willing and able to stay on past age 65?

I'm not sure that any official data has been gathered on that, but looking at part 91 (corporate) and 135 operations does any one have a good idea?

I've heard of and also run into a few guys who seem to be "fly til I die" types. Which I hope to do myself, but I'd like to give up flying *professionally* sometime before turing 65.

So how many airlines that have filed bankruptcy in the last 5 years said they want to keep pilots around longer so that labor costs can continue to go up?

Five years ago they were winning major concessions in pay so how senior the payscales would become wasn't as much of a concern. Horton, tasked with restructuring AMR (hope I named the right guy) has said very specifically and publicly how he would. He states that reducing labor costs by removing senior pilots and replacing them with pilots of a lower payscale is part of his plan to turn AMR from deficits to surpluses.

After Colgan (even though age was never mentioned as a cause), how many politicians would support the idea of 67 year old captains?

And lastly, does the public support the idea of 67 year old pilots in the cockpit? That is just polling information I don't have, but I'm thinking I could guess where public support would fall.

The FAA has no skin in the game as far as I can tell, and I don't think they would lobby either for raising the age nor against it.

So, ultimately, where does the support to raise the age to 67 come from? People think regionals would be dessimated by the shortage, but I doubt they're thinking that far ahead. All the bankrupt (and profiting) ones care about is reducing costs and I imagine they're drooling at the oppertunity to get rid of their senior pilots in mass and going cheap on the pay scale. Even if it were to their detriment.

If the mandatory retirement age was changed to 67 (or 70), but with a restriction that PICs had to be under the age of 65, I seriously doubt many would choose to stick around.

Don't be so sure. There are plenty that would go from captain to sitting sideways as a FE if we still had the seat...

great......we already have a green on green provision in our FOM, now we have to add a grey on grey?? I'm gonna have to card everyone I fly with!:(

I hope it is raised to 70. By the time I get there, the added five years would bring me a minimum of an additional $1.5-2.0 million in base salary alone.

Does that figure include 5 years of being stuck at a regional/downgraded/furloughed due to the bump in age?

Seriously folks - save your money. Retire. Buy the one house with the one wife. Get a vasectomy to avoid BKs.

And keep it at 65.

Why is there going to be a shortage? And who is to blame?
There must be a reason why there is a decline in pilot certificates.

And STDs from the FAs in the BMWs!:eek:

Pilot supply a key long-term challenge for regional airlines | ATWOnline

More of the same..

The "benefit" of age 65 is the ability to go directly into medicare after retirement- and not be without insurance for 5 years as when the rule was 60. Lots of folks went to the big 142 schools between mandatory retirement at 60 and worked for 5 years as an instructor (good, bad, or ugly) just to have active medical insurance. I don't see a lot hanging out after turning 65 if they up the rule.

All that makes sense. The more "exprienced" pilots ive worked with however all say "id say til 67 if the rule changes, but thats it". We both know they would stay as long as they are permitted.