Tamali, you obviously still believe in the tooth fairy, father christmas, copper bracelets for rheumatism, the Loch Ness Monster and the Yeti. The management at Cathay are committed to keeping costs down. One of the few direct costs that they can control is staff costs. The company is run for the benefit of shareholders not the benefit of the staff, so do not raise hopes that the pilot body is about to sweep into a glorious period of good relations with management. The only reason that an extension to the retirement date will be implemented is if it makes financial sense to the beancounters. So when enough expensive A scale captains have retired and the bottom line has been reduced, THEN perhaps the retirement age will be raised. The only other reason would be that the CAD are worried about experience levels on the flight deck and all that great experience is being ushered out the door at 55 .