I think that's quite an expectation, even for >30 year careers, to expect someone to rouse themselves at 4 am or so to come and shake your hand on your last arrival! Especially when they have a family, full office job to do as well as trips. You will be making one or two more visits back to the office to hand back ID, uniform, manuals etc, pick up pension details (hopefully), staff travel (if a decent airline), letter of service blah blah. Isn't it more effective to pop around and see people in their offices in the working day and say to all associates 'bye bye, and thanks for all the fish!'? Just seems to me a far more effective way of doing things when some airlines these days have in excess of 3000 pilots with one or more retiring many days a week!
As for Captains in the right hand seat on last flights in videos, I used to be surprised at the US crews flying the Atlantic with always 3 pilots, 2 or all being Captains. I used to fly transatlantic in a B747 as far as Miami, Chicago or Bombay, Delhi, Nairobi with just a 2 ringer. My very last flight was Bangkok-LHR with 2 2-ringers. I think it was just US union rules for Atlantic flights as standard with 2 captains.
Last edited by Notso Fantastic; 23rd Sep 2012 at 11:46.