Due to the recent downturn in the aviation industry and the shortage of jobs for young qualified pilots should old pilots hang up their wings and retire?
I don’t mean remove all the experienced captains nor do I mean to be age racist but I am expressly talking about pilots who have flown their careers with a major airline (BA for example) and then due to company specific age regulations are forced to take retirement and their hefty pension that comes with it. But instead of putting up their feet and getting green fingers they go and take a right hand seat (Virgin for example) to while away the time or to escape the nagging wife!
These RHS jobs they take are usually at below industry wages as the pilots are not interested in the money! This negative cycle helps these companies 3 fold, they don’t need to recruit, they can offer low wages and they require the minimum fringe benefits. Surely if this pilot pool was removed it would force certain companies to actively recruit, allow self-improver ATPL holders who are young with their lives ahead of them a chance to earn a decent lifetime wage?
