I find the notion that senior people should retire to "allow" the new wannabies to get a job or the junior staff a promotion is very selfish of the wannabies and juniors. The senior person has invested many years of training and preparation into their job - living in a rented room in the early years or commuting large distances etc etc, - probably before the juniors were even born. That the senior now lives in a big mansion with a new car every year is a testament to their years of hard work.
Having said that we can all think of the boring old fart Captain who only shows up once a month to fly to the best destinations and who should have retired years ago because they can barely see the instruments; have difficulty programming the FMGC, and cannot handle crosswinds any more.
This is in part a consequence of the ever increasing pay with seniority. Why should more years in the same job result in more pay?, (beyond inflation increases). Promotion, yes. Extra responsibilities, yes. More hours, yes. But more money for the same job, flights and same destinations? Very difficult, I imagine, for a very senior person, raking in several hundred grand a year plus pension contributions, to give all that up.
It should probably be decided by our AMEs and on ability in the SIM. If Captain Fred really struggles and his cognitive faculties have declined, then he should be put out to grass. If, however, he keeps himself physically and mentally fit, and can manage a modern jet, then why should he not continue? Very difficult though for a company TRE to make the call that his senior colleague is unfit. That could go either way with favouritism or hate of the candidate. Perhaps the CAA should conduct the SIMs of pilots above a certain age to avoid the TREs knowing the candidates?
As far as retiring people making some sort of statement. Well, if the retiree is popular and throws a party, they can of course get up and thank those who attended, and perhaps the company for many years of happy employment etc. Ditto if the company throws a party for the retiree. But generally, a card is produced by someone and signed by crews and staff wishing Captain Fred a happy retirement, not expecting Fred to make a statement, beyond thanking his colleagues for many happy years and getting him back to his hotel room down route after that dodgy bar where he somehow lost his trousers etc.
In my own employment previous to airlines, I have seen senior people circulate letters about why they are leaving and why the management are failing etc. These just come across as sour grapes, even if true: Either do something within the company to improve the situation, or just quietly move on.
One exception might be if the person was resigning or retiring over serious company safety concerns.
Last edited by Uplinker; 8th December 2021 at 10:15.