Careers

A change could impact in many ways

The message is that today's senior citizens are part of a different breed. Retirement n o longer means taking the gold watch and hanging out by the tenth green. Retirement can be a time to pursue those long-delayed goals that took second place to family and financial pressures, such as starting a new business, joining Habitat for Humanity, or flying an RJ for Continental Express.

Wait--what was that last one? After decades of wrangling about the pros and cons of having seasoned sixty-plus pilots occupy airliner flight decks, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said on January 30, "It's time to close the book on Age 60. The retirement age for airline pilots needs to be raised. So, the FAA will propose a new rule to allow pilots to fly until they are 65." With those words, 47 years of debate on the matter seems to be winding down. The FAA has finally come around to what the member states in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) have contended: There's a lot of living--and flying--left to do at 60.

Blakey cited Sen. John Glenn, who joined a Space Shuttle crew at age 77, and veteran airline Capt. Al Haynes, who performed a major miracle coaxing a DC-10 with no operating hydraulics into Sioux City, Iowa. As she rightfully says, "I'm standing here today to tell you that it was a sad day when Captain Haynes turned 60. This rule drew a line in the sand, and aviation lost heroes like Captain Haynes because of it." Amen, Marion!

How did the age 60 rule become that arbitrary line in the sand? Some say it was prompted by the CEO of a prominent air carrier who just could not see paying those escalating salaries for an additional five years and convinced his industry and FAA cronies to make age 60 the end-all. Others say it was a union deal to get the old men out of the cockpit to make room for the youngsters. Certain pundits have claimed forever that skills and mental agility degrade rapidly past age 60, and the rule was more than justified for the sake of safety. It's the last of these positions that seems to garner the most controversy.

Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Fred Tilton said, "The aviation medical community has been in support of such a change for a number of years. There is no convincing medical evidence to support age 60, or any other age, for mandatory pilot retirement."

For many years, it did seem as if the FAA was bent on protecting the status quo. To her credit, Blakey went outside of the agency and convened an aviation rulemaking committee of airline, labor, and medical experts. As might be expected, not everyone was on the same page but, as the FAA asserts, the committee provided "perspective that will be helpful."

This development is not necessarily a slam-dunk that means instant change. The FAA plans to issue a formal Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) later this year. The folks who are tasked with pushing this effort through come from the FAA's flight standards, aerospace medicine, and rulemaking divisions. The public, industry, and individual pilots will have the opportunity to comment, and the FAA has an obligation to listen and consider the data and opposing arguments before making a final decision.

There are a couple of important aspects of the proposal that deserve the spotlight. First, a 60-plus pilot who occupies the flight deck must be accompanied by another pilot under the age of 60. It appears that there is still lingering doubt about the viability of the new scheme and a hesitancy to place full trust and confidence in the senior pilot.

Second, the final rule may have a launch date that excludes pilots who reach 60 before the rule is implemented. If the regulation takes effect on January 1, 2008, but your sixtieth birthday is December 31, 2007, you might be out of luck.

What are the personal ramifications of the new rule? That depends on where you are on the career ladder.

Mark is 59 years old and took early retirement as a Boeing 737 captain at a major airline. He says, "I left early because I just did not see the company bouncing back in time. I took another industry job that provided me not only with stability, but a continuing source of income, which I need because of the pension that I lost. By the time the age 65 rule comes into play, I'll be past 60. So, this is a bittersweet deal for me. Yes, I think I would have flown for another three years or so. I don't think I would have stuck it out to 65, but the extra few years making a decent income would have helped a lot."

The thoughts of a forty-something DC-9 line pilot are somewhat different. Todd says, "The airline business is one where seniority counts. To a pilot, it is crucial. It is only through the ability to upgrade from the right seat to the left seat or from smaller aircraft to larger that an airline pilot can improve his quality of life. When you start out, you get the crummy schedules and the pay to go with it. Although we all value and appreciate the senior captain, we would be less than honest if we did not look at the list of monthly retirees and say, 'Hallelujah! I'm moving up the seniority roster.'"

Those youthful professional aviators who have been slogging it out in the regionals with an eye on moving over to the major airlines may find themselves on hold for awhile.

Of course, not everyone who is 59 today wants to hang on for another six years, but there are probably more than a few who will, given the state of their retirement benefits as a result of the post-September 11 bust. That could mean a few more years in the Embraer or Canadair before moving out and up.

The most interesting scenario to watch is on the other side of the spectrum, where a baby boomer retires at age 53, collects a tidy monthly pension, and opts for a shot flying the next 10 years for a regional carrier.

A case in point: A newly retired FAA air traffic controller called it quits after 25 years of government service. Now in his fifties, he went to Trans States Airlines to fulfill his real lifelong dream. Neat story, eh? There could be more of those.

For the regional airlines, the new age 65 rule should prompt some robust discussions around the human resources department.

The late bloomer can be a strong asset. Chances are that 50-some-year old has enough personal wealth to stomach the $19,000 annual income of a brand-new first officer. This person is probably in the airline game for the sheer love of flying. That graying pilot will, hopefully, bring a level of commitment, maturity, and life experience that will be valued by the airline and its public.

There will undoubtedly be an interesting dynamic to watch on the flight deck between that 28-year-old Embry-Riddle captain and the 55-year-old former CEO of a small firm in Silicon Valley in the right seat. Can both be humble enough to respect one another for the sake of safety and cockpit resource management? That can take a great deal of personal discipline.

Stay tuned for more on this development. Perhaps, with the prospect of a new age 65 rule, the old saying that "It's never too late!" will have special meaning to those who have postponed their coveted dream of flying for the airlines.

Wayne Phillips is an airline transport pilot with a Boeing 737 type rating. He is a B-737 instructor and operates the Airline Training Orientation Program in association with Continental Airlines. He is an aviation safety consultant in Michigan and speaker for the AOPA Air Safety Foundation.