A great friend of mine is a pilot for American Airlines.  He is in his fifties, but was worried he would have to retire at the age of 60 due to the mandatory retirement age limit imposed by the U.S. government.  He has four daughters, one still in high school.  Putting them through college has been a concern because he relies on his income as a pilot to make a living.  But this all changed on December 13^th of 2007.

President Bush signed into law the new retirement age of 65.  Any pilot who was 60 on or after December 13, 2007 has been granted an extra five years on the job.  Even retired pilots can return to work, but the airlines aren’t obligated to take them back.  If they do become hired again, they will be starting out with no more seniority or salary than a rookie pilot.  That part doesn’t quite seem fair but it is up to the airlines to decide.

Apparently pilots have been fighting for this change since the law first took effect back in 1960.  These days, it seems like age 60 is kind of young.  It only seems right that pilots should be able to choose if they want to retire or not from their jobs as long as they are physically capable of doing their job.  I’m sure that some of these pilots over 60 are excellent by now after flying planes for such long careers.  As long as they still have sharp minds and healthy bodies… why not let them keep working?

I would trust a pilot over 60, maybe even more so than the newest graduate from flight school.  They have the capacity to make decisions based on many years of experience.  People are having children later in life now, so many of these pilots still have mouths to feed as they approach retirement.  And with a shortage of good pilots, maybe this new law will help to lessen some of the deficiency.

For once I can say I agree with a decision that President Bush has made.  Way to go.