Also with age comes dementia, apathy, and inability to adapt. Give me an experienced Capt < 50 anyday for my family to ride with.
My observation after 15 years as a check airman is this: very few above 55 have the drive and the gas to keep in the books and maintain the highest level of knowledge and professionalism, rather they rely on the old maxim of EXPERIENCE. I found this to be true of myself also, which was why I retired at 56. Glad I did and glad I was careful with stock selection.
some of the over 70 pilots I see are very fit to fly, bungee jump etc and some are crumbling at 45, or even 25 for that matter. 70 seems to be the "new 60" these days, but I reckon the regulators are going to put in some pretty close medical scrutiny and probably a load of simulator testing as well if the age is extended. Doesn't the computer fly the plane these days?
All very nice and well...in Germany we had to retire at 65 (JAROPS) which was nice, cause the state pension would start at 65 (which I and my employers pay towards shiploads of money).
Now the state raised that age to be 67 and rumour has it that they plan to raise it to 70. What will I do in the 5 years in between? There is a lot of pilots without pensions from an airline, who need to cover this gap in one way or another...
If I had the financial means I wouldve got out years ago. Ive already had a total gutfull - crappey fatigue-inducing rosters, airlines run by bean-counters (with the ongoing reduction in salarys), 400 hr computer-dependant kids in the rhs, airplanes "run" by computers, the list goes on.
The glorius era of airline flying has gone and its gone forever. And the general disposition of airline pilots is only going to get far far worse - look whats happened since 1985.
Allright maybe financialy your locked in to an industry youve had enough of, instead of enjoying retirement with maybe an hour of aeros in a Stearman now and then. But running around with your airline navbag till 70 will only make retirement a helluvalot harder. Plan for 60 and use the remainder years (if need be) to 65 or 70 to get your act together in the shortest posible time. Then get out before what enjoyment you have of airline flying (if any) is eventualy destroyed.
The same feelings about age and pilots have been aired yet again. Sorta expected that but: My question was does anyone KNOW of any airline/country that has changed or is actively trying to get the age limit pushed beyond 65? Thanks again.
In all professions people struggle to retire as earlier as possible. Just the f pilots struggle to retire later.
This is a proof that most of them have a chicken`s brain and awful personal life.
It`s when I read this kind of things , happily suported by pilots that I realize that our profession is really plummeting down in all aspects. And there is definitely no way back. Expect even poorer work and salary conditions. In Europe , there are already big companies (with over 30 airplanes) paying 3300 NET to A320 Captains. Don`t let to cross your mind that this is the bottom of the well. There`s more to come. The future will be working untill 70 or more taking home a 2000 euro Net salary (for Captains of course) and having to move around all the time since the quality of jobs will be more and more volatile.
There was one time this was a gentlemen`s profession.
I haven't read the whole thread, so apologies if this question's been asked before, but upping the age to 70 begs the question: what will we do when the last baby boomer actually drops his clogs and departs this mortal coil?
The constant increasing of the retirement age "because we can't do without the experience" could have been used by every generation since before Pontious got his command in Air Judea. I really think we oldies should accept that we've had a damn fine time of it (and quite possibly, almost certainly, have seen the best of it) and we should pass the baton on at some stage. There's no right or wrong age for this, but 65 would seem to me to be a pretty good compromise for all concerned.
What will happen to TGU when all the old pilots retire? Sad day then.
IF these landings are supposed to have something to do with age, what are the ages of the 2 pilots involved? My first reaction is that the first one knows how to fly an airplane, but the second one is DANGEROUS! He stopped on the known short runway ONLY with a lot of luck after touching down more than half way to the end. A pilot who actually uses his experience would have rejected the landing rather than put his passengers at such risk.
Amen. That is why I got out when DHL downsized in the US. The profession is no longer what it once was, and I seriously doubt it will ever be so again. It's a pity.
All you whining gear pullers will most probably get to 60 then 65, then 70, and maybe more. Hope I'm still around to hear you change your tune. Have some respect for your elders who have paid their dues and spent more time in the air then you have wearing long pants. Try being fully qualified and current one day, then too old the next. Better be saving your pennies, your time will come.
Domestically, there has never been a legal age limit in Australia, as opposed to airline/union imposed limits.
However, the medical start to get very stiff after 60, now even for a PPL. Unfortunately, too much depends on the subjective judgment ( which should be objective) of certain medicos, the latest CASA head of Aerospace ( why Space, I wonder??) Medicine has very rapidly become known as Dr. No.
I don't know of any pilots over 70 still flying for major carriers, but there are certainly pilots over 70 flying for small non scheduled operators.
"In all professions people struggle to retire as earlier as possible."
Those of us who are in professions that we actually enjoy don't "struggle to retire."
I'm a freelance writer, though I've also been flying since 1966. I'm 74, still working, and to me, retirement would be equivalent to death. I enjoy writing. Some people enjoy flying.
I'd say 2 out of 10 ''young guys'' that I flew with were worth their salt in the cockpit. the flight attendants thought the same thing in other departments!
Nice.
In my airline, there are no "young guys." Very few of us F/O's are under 40, and most (like me) have many thousands of hours. But whatever gets you through the night.
I just have to ask all you young fellas that are whining about this. Are you old enough to remember when there was NO age 60 rule?
How did we ever manage to survive and develop and progress long enough for Quesada to arbitrarily invent and impose the age 60 limit? How many crashed and burned because there was no age 60 rule? Was it ever necessary or just somebody's power trip?
Whatever the limt or if there is no limit, the decision should not be arbitrary and political. Your ability to work as a pilot should be based only on sound medical health and demonstrated proficiency whether you're 25 or 75.
the man who taught me aerobatics was 73 at the time and could fly till I was sick. A few years later he lost his medical...but if you could help him into the plane he could still fly well. Best pilot I ever flew with.
pilots struggle to retire later.
gear pullers will most probably get to 60 then 65, then 70, and maybe more. Hope I'm still around to hear you change your tune. Have some respect for your elders who have paid their dues and spent more time in the air then you have wearing long pants. Try being fully qualified and current one day, then too old the next. Better be saving your pennies, your time will come.
