Originally Posted by
Bealzebub
Exuberance of youth will always want everybody ahead of them to get out of the way in their anxiety to achieve the pots of gold that they perceive they are being blocked from. I was the same, and watched as those at the top of the seniority list glacially clung on as long as they could. The closer you get to that pinnacle, the more you will have experienced the reasons why people want to continue.
Whilst I understand the overall tone of your post, I must point out that these youth clamoring for the pots of gold are often in their 50's, certainly at the Legacy carriers anyway.
As another poster mentioned, I'm yet to see any youngsters pushing for the retirement age to go up.... in fact, the only Pilots I have spoken to that support an increase are fast approaching 65 while also occupying the LHS of a Widebody.
While I do agree to some extent that the Medical should be the deciding factor, I've also seen how ugly things can get when a senior pilots abilities start to deteriorate and they get stood down. Stones get thrown, names called, Lawyers paid, in the end, an unfortunate way to finish ones career.