It seems quite counter intuitive that the FAA would lower age limits at this time. If they did so right now, they would put a big target on their backs for exacerbating the "shortage" problem, especially with respect to the regionals. Once the mainstream media gets a hold of it, it would be trumpeted that they are the cause of it and climbing ticket prices... nevermind that fuel is the largest single component of a ticket price.

It sure does !!

But to an unacceptable extent, particularly in multi-crew operations?

ShotOne and JPJP
 

The genesis of the problem is demographic.

As successive governments ignored an aging population and impact on expenditures and declining revenue, so did airline management ignore it. They drove terms and conditions to the point that insufficient new pilots are willing to take the necessary investment for what is now on offer. Self defeating in the long term, but driven by short term bonus culture it was always someone else's problem.

The reason for retirement of airline pilots at a particular age approximating 60 was due cognitive decline.
Whilst not evident in all pilots at the same time, 'on average' statistically it was correlated with an age profile.
This progressive decline was accelerated with circadian rhythm disturbance, digestive imbalance and many of the things pilots (and indeed Cabin crew) live with.
Whilst it is important to note that not all pilots deteriorate universally, many of the studies refuting the decline are done with older pilots EXERCISING private pilot licences and not those involved in Long Haul night operations.

Now airline management who have previously simply targeted limits to drive 'efficiency' aren't happy. Safe with their weekends off, nights in the own beds and Christmas with their families, they want more.


The regulators are being pressured to lift the retirement age again. Airlines want more from crew, not less.
Qantas CEO Joyce already virtue signaled the Australian regulator CASA to lift the limit for operating crew beyond the current 20 hours.
Interestingly and rather unsurprisingly, the studies undertaken for the long range flying being undertaken by the Qantas 787 did not include pilots and cabin crew.

In Australia you can fly beyond 65 years (domestic) as long as you meet the (more) stringent medical requirements.

We don't seem to have many 'older' guys dieing or being incapacitated in flight.

If you want older pilots to GTF out of flying so you can take their place, well, that's quite selfish. Those guys earnt their stripes, and their experience.

If the UK government lowered the State pension age, instead of steadily increasing it as they have been doing, it would put a few more pilots "in the bracket" and they might take the option to hang up the headset that one last time.

I obtained my first Class One CAAC medical at the age of 66. I renewed it again that year and again three times after that. When my contract finally expired when I was 68 I still had a Class One medical certificate.

That being the case, why do the Chinese have such restrictive hiring criteria age-wise. . . . . . . . and also, what happened to the post from button push ignored claiming that something was about to be imminently rubber-stamped, that all went a bit quiet , along with his post .

All the in-flight incapacitations that I have heard about for quite some time have involved pilots much younger than 60!

Regarding those selfish younger pilots who just want the 'older pilots' out of the way, with the increasing pilot shortage that argument is very much part of the past and one would expect younger pilots to have the 'situational awareness' to be able to see that! (However, I suppose that that sort of selfishness does somewhat blinker their thinking. Maybe that might explain why many of them are still 'SFOs'!)