CBreezy

What will be really interesting is if the Air Force enacts a Stop-Loss as they have hinted they may have to do.

Andy

I'm not a doctor (and I don't have the balls to take up surgery as a side hobby ) but I have an ex-relative with type I who has experienced random issues over the years due to hypoglycemia. I think you're considerably downplaying the risks of flying with type I, especially if one's flying long haul double augmented flights. JMO.

If it were me, I'd change your second sentence to read: With proper diet and adequate insulin, people live unaffected by Type 1 almost every day.

Andy

If that's the case, the big 4 are likely to increase hiring from LCCs and ULCCs to make up for lack of ex-mil pilots.

CBreezy

Agreed, but that will stress the system in other places faster.

kevbo

I'm saying the demographic could change enough so that kids with options will no longer consider flying as a desirable career.

Andy

Yes; passengers' wallets when they have to pay higher ticket prices to pay for our raises. No sympathy here; the public didn't give a crap when I was furloughed twice and they were able to buy tickets for less than the cost of transporting them.

Seriously though - the entire business is going to have to upgauge as the number of pilots becomes more scarce, effectively killing the regional model.

Sliceback

Life expectancy at 65 is 18 yrs for men and 20 for women (2012 data).

WHACKMASTER

God, I hope so on all of your points.

Andy

Yes, and a male's life expectancy at age 83 is 6.7 years. You can play the life expectancy at age xx game for a very long time, but it's pretty meaningless the day you have a massive stroke because the quality of your life moving forward is, er, diminished.

How old are you today and at what age do you expect to start having major health issues?

TransWorld

Two additional points to factor in:

1. Same data show people in the poor and lower middle classes live less than these numbers on average. People in upper middle class (i.e. airline pilots) live on average significantly longer. Why? Better lifestyles, more proactive medical treatments.

2. Data is for the entire population. If you do not consider those with already significant health problems at age 65 (pilots that would be on medical disability) the remainder would live longer.

How much longer I do not know. And with medical advances, lives are being extended every year. (Those of us nearing retirement remember as kids when there was no such thing as heart surgery and cancer was generally a death sentence.) Of course while we are talking about averages, some die the day after they reach 65, others make it to 100. YMMV

Bottom line, the bulk of the airline pilots who hanged it up at 65 (or even 67) will enjoy quite a few years of retirement.

(Just for reference, in 1900 in the US the average life expectancy was 46. The greatest causes of death were influenza and diarrhea. (Seriously.). Most people did not live long enough to get cancer or heart disease. When social security was established in the 1930s, the average life expectancy of men was 62 and women was 65 -- hence we get those famous 62 and 65 ages in social security. The social security bet was half of the people paying in would die before they collected a penny. My grandparents lived an average of 73 years. My parents, 91. I will invite you all to my 100th birthday party!)