FAA Seeks To Raise Pilots' Retirement Age
By CBS News correspondent Bob Orr.
CBS News has learned that the Federal Aviation Administration is seeking new regulations to increase the mandatory retirement age for commercial airline pilots from 60 to 65. FAA administrator Marion Blakey is expected to make a formal announcement on Tuesday in a speech at the National Press Club in Washington.
Sources say the new FAA rules will closely mirror new international regulations which allow a pilot to continue flying up to age 65 as long as his/her co-pilot in the cockpit is younger than 60. The International Civil Aviation Organization increased its pilot retirement age from 60 to 65 last November. Since then, most airline pilots, except those flying for airlines in Colombia, France, Pakistan and the United States, have been permitted to keep their jobs past 60.
The U.S. "Age 60" retirement rule has been on the books since 1960 and has always been somewhat controversial. Senior captains have embraced early retirement because generous pension benefits have usually guaranteed a good retirement. At the same time, younger pilots have benefited with quicker promotions and airlines have been able to eliminate the highest-paid senior positions earlier than most other companies in the business world.
But, other pilots have complained the Age 60 rule is arbitrary and denies them the opportunity to continue making a living. With financially strapped airlines now cutting and cancelling pensions, many older pilots say they need to keep working. Of course, that prospect would create a roadblock for younger pilots who are looking for promotions or a chance to return from furloughs.
In addition, without a change, the FAA would be confronted with a double standard. Foreign pilots older than 60 could fly into and out of the United States, even as their American counterparts were being forced to retire.
Aviation officials say, in part, the Age 60 rule has endured for decades because of concerns that older pilots may be more prone to health issues. But numerous medical experts have testified recently that there is no valid scientific basis to keep pilots from safely flying to age 65 and even beyond. Senior pilots have argued persuasively that long-term experience more than compensates for eroding motor skills.
Now, it seems, the FAA agrees. But the proposed new regulations will certainly bring challenges — and aviation experts say it could be a year, or even longer, before the new rules take effect.
By Bob Orr