Since 1959, U.S. commercial airline pilots have been required to quit flying at age sixty. That suited Baby Boomers just fine. There were lots of them, and they needed turnover at the top of the seniority ladder to make room for their own advancement. But now that Boomers themselves are topping out, the mandatory retirement age has been rethought. After all, Baby Boomers don’t see themselves as getting too old to fly just because they are aging.
In late 2006, the International Civil Aviation Organization changed its rules, allowing pilots to fly until age sixty-five as long as their co-pilot is under sixty. This forced the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to reconsider its policy, and on January 30, 2007, the ...
