if any retrenchments were needed of pilots that all the over 58s would have to go first. Can anyone confirm this for me?
Nope, sorry to dash your hopes, Dragon Man. As I recall, there was a clause in that LOA that over 58s would be retrenched before any pilots younger than 58, but it only applies to those pilots [under 58] who were employed by QF at the time of the vote. Many hundreds of pilots who are not subject to this clause have been hired since that vote, so these 'new hires' will be 'first off' before the over 58s.