PPRuNe Forums - Kiwi Retirement Issues

Good Morning All:
It seems the age 60 issues has affected our friends in "Kiwi" land much to the advantage of the ones who stayed and to the detriment of ones caught under this demographic. According to the article it has caused headaches for the company for rostering as well.
This seems to beg the ongoing question what to do when "rights" of the few out weigh the needs of the many?
It has been years since I looked at the cost of acquiring a pilot's licence ie commercial, multi-engine, instrument etc to which some say is north of $40,000:00.
Therefore, when you get all your ratings no one will hire you because you have no experience. So up north of 60, doing circuits, ricochets as an instructor, a twin job doing freight, join the regional's and finally you get an airline job.
Historically there was progression as pilots at the top retired because wait for it "there was a mutually agreed contractual age for retirement"!
Now we have rightly or wrongly a fight by a vocal minority to overturn this provision. Ask yourself this do rights have any obligations? Do we owe anything to the next generation entering the work force? The sad thing is the emotional rhetoric has overtaken the intellectual discussion of the subject.
In this writers opinion I advanced through the seniority system to get where I got just before retirement. Were the working conditions, destinations, and pay great at the end? Yes they were and because those who went before me left it was my obligation to pass the torch to the next generation, which I did happily.
Did I involve myself in younger years to change this retirement? The answer is no because I felt that this is a fair and equitable way for all to benefit.
So for the young person today unless you have a really burning desire to spend all that money to get all the licences, have lousy working conditions for years to win the "lottery" for a airline job and than face the strong possibility of a stagnated career change your field of endeavour early.
Just my view of 44 years in the system so it is your choice and good luck!

Ageing Air NZ pilots 'refuse to retire'

Air New Zealand has dozens of pilots aged over 60, and some over 70, flying some of its biggest planes because they're "creaming it" and refuse to quit.

That's according to one pilot who has told the Nelson Mail their refusal to retire was hampering the career prospects of others – like him – and causing headaches for the airline.

His revelations follow an Employment Court case in which eight pilots are suing Air New Zealand for millions, claiming they retired or were demoted between 2003 and 2006 without being told that international rules were changing that would have allowed them to continue in their positions.

Air New Zealand, like other airlines around the world, promotes its pilots according to seniority and the lifting of retirement age restrictions has seen many hang on to top earning positions longer than they might have otherwise expected.

An Air New Zealand pilot who did not wish to be named said the company had about 850 pilots, with more than 100 of these aged over 60 and about three over 70.

"For the last 10 years no-one has been retiring. Everyone's been stuck where they are. Air NZ has not hired a pilot in over three years and any hiring in the last five to eight years was primarily due to new aircraft expansion."

The most senior pilots captain the biggest planes – those being 747s and now 777s – and they earn between $200,000 and $300,000 a year for doing so. It made no sense for them to retire when they were in such lucrative positions, the pilot said.

"The company can't make a redundancy package attractive enough to encourage older pilots to leave. It's all about the money. They're creaming it."

While New Zealand has a liberal approach to retirement, international aviation rules prevent anyone over the age of 65 captaining a plane and the combined captain and first officer age is not allowed to exceed more than 120 years. This generated "horrendous rostering problems" for Air New Zealand, the pilot said. "The company has to fudge admin days, which no-one comes to work for, to make the rosters look legitimate."

It meant that older pilots barely had to work and the younger ones, those under 60, often got horrible rosters to accommodate their senior peers, he said.

The pilot argues that many of those aged over 60 had been employed in their 20s on the premise that the retirement age was 55 and this had created promotion opportunities for them at an early age.

"So why should they continue on until 70 and beyond? These pilots do not represent the average Air NZ pilot both in attitude, income, and work."

An entry-level pilot on Air New Zealand's jet operations earned about $77,000. The pilot said it was no longer a valid career option, taking into account the cost of training, the low pay received while building up enough flying hours to gain employment with Air New Zealand and the slow career progression.

"My career is stuffed, basically, because there's not enough movement in the industry. I probably would have been better off being a plumber."

Air New Zealand spokeswoman Tracy Mills declined to discuss the issues raised by the pilot, instead issuing a statement saying the company operated under the rules and regulations set out by the relevant civil aviation authorities. "Air New Zealand has a comprehensive policy for our pilots which exceeds the regulatory requirements," she said.

New Zealand Airline Pilots Association acting president Glen Kenny, of Nelson, said Air New Zealand's promotion regime was no different to that used by other airlines around the world. New Zealand had led the way with human rights legislation preventing age discrimination, he said. "You have to look at the big picture."

The pilots now at retirement age were part of the baby boomer generation and had "probably enjoyed one of the best periods of prosperity in the industry that we'll see".

"They will eventually move on. I do know the younger generation, they want everything now. It's almost the green-eyed monster. They can see what's occurred and they wish it could have occurred for them."

However, there will still be opportunities for young pilots down the track, Mr Kenny said. The aviation industry in Asia-Pacific was expected to almost double in size during the next 20 years.

"We're seeing more pilots effectively work offshore but live in New Zealand. They enjoy far superior remuneration and working conditions than they will ever enjoy working for a New Zealand company. We're just becoming a far more globalised workforce. I think that's what the younger pilots have to keep in mind."