Originally Posted by
oldchinahand
Cambo I was not referring to any large number of retired pilots (in the age sense) returning from retirement to fly .
In our group of friends we have a pilot, mid forties who has returned to the airline after over 2 years 'retired' in New Zealand - it took about 5 months before he resumed flying - not actually so long.
Some older pilots no longer fly but become SIM trainers and such
Not sure, if I raised the age aspect. It has everything to do with the experience, the level of maturity a captain has. And, yep, those returning from retirement need a lot of retraining, before they are (re-)qualified to work on the line. This training requires more experienced captains. And there is simply reduced availability of that species.
And, when the medical becomes an issue, these pilots can often work as SIM trainers/examiners. Though, for many of them, they probably moved on once their medical made it impossible, etc.
So, all in all, there is still a lack of pilots with suitable skills to perform at the top end of the skills pyramid.
And, then we did not speak about the pay, CX nowadays gives the pilots. Significantly less than pre-Covid, with all its consequences for the overall quality level. What happens with Flight Attendants also happens with the pilots.