Originally Posted by
sincx
Why are there mandatory retirement ages for pilots but not flight attendants, despite flight attendants being there "primarily for your safety"? There's obviously a clear relationship between age and physical performance, reaction times, etc. and that would apply equally to pilots and flight attendants.
Not to mention that cases of fraud like this seem to be primarily committed by the more senior employees.
The history of mandatory pilot retirement age is an interesting story. A handshake deal between the an airline CEO (AA) and the head of the FAA many years ago was the reason it was instituted (to lower pilot costs, because the highest paid pilots would be forced to retire at 60.) It was raised to 65 in late 2007 to match ICAO, and there were political dealings then as well.