Retirement Age for Pilots
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Retirement Age for Pilots
Has any progress been made to extend the age limit for professional pilots engaged in Public Transport/ Airline Flying in Europe or North America.
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Can only address the FAA. Through an act in Congress, both the Senate and House of Representative, attached a change to a bill making it age 65 for FAR121, 135 operations. The FAA did not have the courage to change the regulation.
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Has any progress been made to extend the age limit for professional pilots engaged in Public Transport/ Airline Flying in Europe or North America.
How could the FAA change it-it was the law of the land. They only choice they had was to comply.
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I hear the 04.30 takeoffs, & the 05.30 & 06.30's. The thought of having to get out of bed at 04.00 - now aged 65 - for either Day 1 or Day 5 earlies, or anything in-between, is a horrific nightmare. The idea of a 22.00 departure for a 10hr night flight, 2 pilots, with 6-8 hour time change; 2 days off in an airport hotel, then return still knackered is also not high on the list of '10 best things to do before you die'.
Nemo Me Impune Lacessit
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BluSdUp - is having a joke at your expense. There is a cloak of mystery and intrigue about why the age of retirement went from 65 to 60 in the first place, around the early 1980s. The story I heard was that a particular CEO of a major in the USA was very unhappy about the grief his older pilots were giving him and he discussed this with his big buddy in the FAA at that time, the upshot was that, overnight, without consultation with the pilot bodies concerned, the age was moved from 65 to 60 and a a whole lot of older pilots were out of a job. The UK, for reasons never explained to the pilot body, followed suit within months.
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The UK, for reasons never explained to the pilot body, followed suit within months.
Are you sure? I only remember the French being out of step with Europe's 65 with a 60 limit, extending even to foreign airlines overflying. That was never going to be enforced unless you landed on French soil. I also had an idea it was a pilot union initiative, not the XAA. I think EASA rules have changed that. There were company pension funds and employment contracts that restricted the retirement age to <65, but I don't think any XAA outside France did so. To be corrected.
It's an interesting conspiracy theory about the FAA. I thought Aalpa had considerable power & influence over such issues. After all, it would have had great financial impact on crews nearing pension age & costs.
Are you sure? I only remember the French being out of step with Europe's 65 with a 60 limit, extending even to foreign airlines overflying. That was never going to be enforced unless you landed on French soil. I also had an idea it was a pilot union initiative, not the XAA. I think EASA rules have changed that. There were company pension funds and employment contracts that restricted the retirement age to <65, but I don't think any XAA outside France did so. To be corrected.
It's an interesting conspiracy theory about the FAA. I thought Aalpa had considerable power & influence over such issues. After all, it would have had great financial impact on crews nearing pension age & costs.
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Parabellum
Right You are, I had to drop that one for giggles.
Interesting on the history on the age limit, would be interesting to know exactly how and when it changed.
By the way , some important people ARE considering lowering the local retirement age to 60, namely my wife and family!
Under the Fish More Work Less program.
Indeed!
Anyway
We have a Catch22 here: Demanding to work past 65 as an Airline pilot shows that You are mentally unfit to work as such and Your medical will be cancelled promptly. The only way to regain medical is to agree that the only sensible thing to do is to ask to retire.
At this time the medical will be handed back with a gold Breitling and Great circle track to the nearest Flying club will be plotted into Your Tesla.
Happy Days
Interesting on the history on the age limit, would be interesting to know exactly how and when it changed.
By the way , some important people ARE considering lowering the local retirement age to 60, namely my wife and family!
Under the Fish More Work Less program.
Indeed!
Anyway
We have a Catch22 here: Demanding to work past 65 as an Airline pilot shows that You are mentally unfit to work as such and Your medical will be cancelled promptly. The only way to regain medical is to agree that the only sensible thing to do is to ask to retire.
At this time the medical will be handed back with a gold Breitling and Great circle track to the nearest Flying club will be plotted into Your Tesla.
Happy Days
I'm sorry but why not raise the age to 70?
The 70 year old of today are as fit as the 50 year old of yesteryear, huge advances have been made in Society... no longer is 60 seen as 'old'.
Not all old fogeys nod off in the cruise
The age limit I suspect is purely economics with just a tad of Medical realism thrown in.
I know the Youngsters will be pissed off by this...
The 70 year old of today are as fit as the 50 year old of yesteryear, huge advances have been made in Society... no longer is 60 seen as 'old'.
Not all old fogeys nod off in the cruise
The age limit I suspect is purely economics with just a tad of Medical realism thrown in.
I know the Youngsters will be pissed off by this...
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The FAA's age 60 rule was introduced circa 1959/60 at the introduction of jet aircraft at American Airlines. The CEO of American a Mr CR Smith pressured the Administrator of the FAA to introduce a mandatory the retirement age of 60 to rid himself of a large group of senior pilots so he didn't have to pay them.
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Flash8
So start at 20, fly 850hrs per year for 50 years, then according to this new ground breaking research: as you walk out at 70, You are feeling like a 51 year old.
Well I am 53 and some times feel like 73 after 5 days and 45 hrs block, but it is going to get better.
How about that!
I tell u what cut the dose in half and ask Scott to beam you up!
Well I am 53 and some times feel like 73 after 5 days and 45 hrs block, but it is going to get better.
How about that!
I tell u what cut the dose in half and ask Scott to beam you up!
Last edited by BluSdUp; 27th Jan 2018 at 20:05. Reason: Adding spacecadet
Sorry, that is entirely down to you.
I'm not saying you have to keep on chugging along, you can always retire, but those that wish to should have the choice!
I still maintain raise to 70 unless there is a probable safety issue.
PS. And it's not Scott.. it's Scotty.
I'm not saying you have to keep on chugging along, you can always retire, but those that wish to should have the choice!
I still maintain raise to 70 unless there is a probable safety issue.
PS. And it's not Scott.. it's Scotty.
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RAT5 - For pilots flying public transport aircraft, above a certain weight, (can't remember the weight but it included the B737-200), as a captain, the age to stop was reduced in the UK from 65 to 60. All back to normal now, I think?
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Why increase the age to 70? Will you not have earned enough money by age 65? Maybe those 5 extra years will finally let you get that Ferrari you've been wanting since you were 12 (though you'd look ridiculous in it at age 70).
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There is safety reasons why we should not fly after 65: People start dying without warning! And JonnyJonnyFO with 350hrs TT just line-released has to take over on that stormy night!
Then there is the moral part of stealing a job from the young
.
Finely , it pulls down the lifetime earnings for us that started with regulation and a plan to retire at 60.
So .because of guys like YOU,:
we are now soon EXPECTED to work to 70 for the same money.
Pathetic Flash!
I am done now.
Then there is the moral part of stealing a job from the young
.
Finely , it pulls down the lifetime earnings for us that started with regulation and a plan to retire at 60.
So .because of guys like YOU,:
we are now soon EXPECTED to work to 70 for the same money.
Pathetic Flash!
I am done now.
For anyone so, so desperate, with so little else of interest, that they need to fly beyond 65, boy (or girl) do I have a deal for you!
Go to www.seek.com.au and look for the Fokker 100 DEC gigs with Air Niugini (PX, aka Poxie). They will accept up to age 75 - no, not a misprint age seventy five.
Of course you do need to spend time in Port Moresby, and will be rostered only on domestic routes. The best part of that is there is virtually no night flying in PNG so those who worry about back of clock effects in the elderly need not. Now whether a 70+ year old liver could handle the drinking culture there is entirely another matter, but you will need to partake of strong drink to fit in with your fellow derelicts.
Go to www.seek.com.au and look for the Fokker 100 DEC gigs with Air Niugini (PX, aka Poxie). They will accept up to age 75 - no, not a misprint age seventy five.
Of course you do need to spend time in Port Moresby, and will be rostered only on domestic routes. The best part of that is there is virtually no night flying in PNG so those who worry about back of clock effects in the elderly need not. Now whether a 70+ year old liver could handle the drinking culture there is entirely another matter, but you will need to partake of strong drink to fit in with your fellow derelicts.
There is no limit in Australia- if you can hold a medical, you can fly.
Flew with a 74 year old T/C the other day- and a damn fine pilot he is too!
Flew with a 74 year old T/C the other day- and a damn fine pilot he is too!
