AA just announced 640 more early retirements. Offering over 2,000 paid leaves (like SILS) at 55 hrs.

Hank,

Age 65 was indeed a windfall for everyone approaching 60 in the left seat - 5 more years at the top of the food chain when all ahead of you had to retire at 60. Try telling the guys who lived through the B scale and 9-11 and retired at age 60 that age 65 was not a windfall. Just like the B scale was a screw job for all who lived through it.

Call it like it is and don't try to spin it. You can't on one hand claim that age 65 was not a windfall and on the other hand claim the B scale was not a screw job. They both affected Pilots one positively and the other negatively.

I am not saying guys in your demographic did not get screwed but claiming age 65 was not a windfall is too much of a stretch. I think the guys who got screwed the worst were the early 90 furlough guys followed closely by the 9-11 furlough group, but what can we do about it? All demographics have been screwed to varying degrees by the vicissitudes of this career, we are even now seeing the 2 and 3 year Captain group who were going to have the "Dream career" talk about furloughs. Its all part of, dare I say it, wait for it........................................"Living the Dream!"

Scoop

Sorry, I was hired with a DB available at age 60. I was also 777A at about age 50. I don't consider working an extra 5 years a windfall. Now everyone gets that windfall! So it's not a windfall, it's SOP.

Violins are breaking out faster than the corona virus.

Working an extra five years is not the windfall. Following close behind a large chunk of pilots who COULD NOT do so... but doing so yourself - that's the windfall. Would you have supported a 63 year old being reinstated for 2 years when the rule changed? Or a 60 year old coming back for 5?

if there was a windfall to the rule change it was narrow and airline specific.

A 59ish yr old pilot who received a weighted payout from an airline bankruptcy due to age based on age 60 retirement arguably had a windfall in then realizing the additional 5 years.

Otherwise its 6 of 1 half dozen of the other for everybody else.

No one is saying you did not get screwed - you did. We all did. But you are missing the point. I was also hired with a DB at 60 and got to yank gear for 5 extra years - who cares? What about the guy who also had a DB when he was hired but had to retire because he turned 60 just prior to the rule changing.

Pilot A had a birthday in December and was forced to retire at 60. Pilot B in the same exact new hire class with a birthday the next month gets five more years on top. This is literally the definition of a windfall.

You are confusing getting screwed with a windfall. They are not mutually exclusive. Pretty much every Pilot hired in the last 40 years got screwed by circumstances at one time or another. Most of these Pilots did not get 5 more years at the top of the food chain.

You also say: Now everyone gets that windfall! So it's not a windfall, it's SOP. Negative. If every guy ahead of you can go to 65 its SOP as you just said. If its SOP it cannot by definition be a windfall - your arguments are not consistent.

Scoop

Huh..that there sounds like a windfall to me.....😁

**** man, I have been here 30 years and have never even stepped foot on a 777

But Is it possible you stepped foot into the left seat of a 747 at a very early age?