Freehills,
To answer your question on RA65. Let’s not make it about me, let’s make it an industry thing.
Firstly, there is a big problem coming with a shortage of Pilots, which is a worldwide thing, as huge numbers of older Pilots are coming up to their ‘Use By’ dates and whilst there are still new people starting at the beginning, it is a very expensive thing to do now, to become a Qualified Pilot, attractive to an Airline. Some have their own Training Schools, or Bond Pilots for a period, if they pay for them.
The issue is complicated by Law and Discrimination. How can you justify discriminating against a person, in any field or career and say that they have to hang up their work hats, just because they reach a certain age? Are they fully competent the day before they are forced to Retire and incompetent the day after? If they prove their capabilities at regular intervals and are assessed medically fit and healthy, do you put them out to pasture, at a set date?
I know Dr. John Fowler was saying to me towards the end, that they are still concerned about the Statistics and I think it was a 3% factor of risk of a medical event, which they had trouble getting past. I am not sure how many people and maybe Pilots in particular, fail their medicals, or suffer a medical event, before their Retirement age, as against those say from 65-67 or even 65-70? I don’t know the Stats on that one.
In my own situation, I would have been okay to fly a part-time roster until 67, however what did me in, in the end, is that I just got burned out with the Simulators and having to study for repetitive events and generally being mucked around, having to live in a small apartment in Hong Kong and not having any control of a proposed Part-Time roster. If I could have been on a Base, only did say three return trips a month, then it may have been okay, but as I said, I just got tuckered out by the Simulators and stuff and I just felt that I was just existing in Hong Kong and not living a proper life, with my family and many friends back in NZ.
I think there are very few Pilots who would want to continue past 65, for whatever their own reasons. A proposal could be that in order to continue past 65, you then become a Relief Commander, you can still retain your four bars, so your ego remains intact and you operate the in cruise duties, or even right seat for three man operations. Humans being human, there would always be a few people who would kick up and protest and say that if I can still do the job, why can’t I still stay in the left seat and be the master of all he or she surveys? The handful of people like this, would then go to the Law and Anti-Discrimination, to help them out. From my own experience, I think that at some point, you have to let go and recognize and accept that your best days are behind you and to let others coming along behind you, have their turn.
I am sure there are many senior Captains, of the very few who would want to go past 65 to say 67, who would not have a problem being a Relief Commander, presumably on the top RQ salary, for operating 2-3 return trips a month for a couple of years. This way it would give them the extra funds they maybe needed, it didn’t hold back junior guys and the Company saved money, whilst having experience in the cockpit. Any extendee Captain who forgot his place, so to speak, would quickly be reminded of his new position, however I am also sure that there are quite a few occasions, where that extra experience on the flight deck, to help out the Captain in the left seat, would be appreciated, with a quiet prompt, or hint as required.
In Air NZ, where they have no defined RA, as long as you pass what you are supposed to pass, other than the restrictions on International flying, then quite a few Captains are continuing past 65, however they have to revert back to the Airbus and unfortunately not all of them are managing that change from Boeing to Airbus. It isn’t something I would want to do at 65 really. Asking the question for others, is China and Hong Kong International flying? If a Pilot extends past 65 and just operates from HKG to China, is that legal or acceptable? Again, that is not something I would want to be doing past 65.
So to sum up your question Freehills, I was very happy to Retire at 65, because of the circumstances at the time. I would have been much happier indeed, if I could have had more say and input in how I flew my patterns and did my work and whilst that is the desirability of these modern Computer Roster Management Systems, unfortunately whilst we have the Dinosaurs running this Company, along with the Crew Controllers who just can’t let go, or stop interfering, it is not going to happen or work.
There are ways that going past 65 could work, as you have an issue with the Discrimination side of things. Do you get people to sign a Contract, a Codicil, or whatever the legal term is, where they accept that they will honour the rules of working past 65, along the lines of what I suggested above, or any other ideas that you came up with. As I said, it would only affect a few people and some would accept it more easily than others, so I will leave it to you good people to discuss it further and work out a solution.
My main worries nowadays, is whether to put pilchards or squid on my fishing hooks, or use my 7 or 8 iron!!
Best Regards,
PH