Repeal of Age 60 rule

[dispatchguy]

ROPEs

When I worked for UAL at their Pilot Crew Desk in the summer of 2000, we had several pilots, ROPEs (real old pilot engineers), who were well past 60 flying the panel on B727s and B747 ropestarts.

I recall one pilot who had a UAL Pilot Seniority date which was during the Battle of Midway, during the summer of 1942. He had been typed on every jet that UAL had flown before his retirement as a pilot in the early 70s, including the Caravelle, DC8, and a few other equipment codes that I couldnt decipher. He retired off the ropestart B747 as a Captain, then moved to the panel and flew it for at least 20+ more years... A really nice guy, never called on sick list. He was a widower (at least according to the information in Unimatic), and my guess was, had nothing else better to do, so why not...

He finally retired from commercial flying when UAL retired the B727 - to which he flowed back to (probably over 25 years since he last flew one as a Captain), after 9/11.

 

[46Driver]

Mailman,
Some of us are looking at the implosion of the majors and realizing we will never make it out of the regionals. A big pension will not be affordable at our companies (and judging by the financial statements of the underfunded majors - I don't think it was affordable there either) and thus we will have to work longer. Its as simple as that. And no, I am not retired military.