As someone who dreamed of being an airline pilot when I was a kid, I can’t help but notice the age shift among pilots at the major US carriers, and that’s really cool to see. Not only does it demonstrate a lot of hard work, but admittedly it also comes down to good timing.
Continue reading: A New Era Of Young “Mainline” Airline Pilots
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Inspiring? Maybe. I’m more worried about the overall lack of experience. Is it legal to have a 25 year old CA at DL? Sure is. Is it safe? Maybe so, maybe no.
Delta had a mid 20’s May 2022 hire get an ATL 756CA in this last bid. UA probably will have street Captains given that they have over 200 unfilled NB CA positions from the last bid.
Is any of that a good thing, save for the pilots on Instagram who like to post about how young and cool they are flying for a mainline carrier?
That 26-year-old CA already exhibited poor decision-making by dooming himself to many years of low seniority in that seat.
Swayne Martin is a smug little a**hole who has an ego the size of the 767 he flies.
As a flight attendant, I’ve never interacted with a more rude non-rev (twice!) and when I found out that he got hired at the competition I was elated that I’d never have to interact with him in a professional capacity.
But yes, it’s great to have new blood in the flight deck. Just glad that sh*tbag ended up at another airline 🙂
This comment section did not disappoint and we're only 4 comments in! I have to say a lot of the younger pilots are really good and shouldn't be generalized because of their timing in the industry and have a great attitude. However, there are still quite a few that stink of entitlement. Especially when they get assigned a junk trip or airport reserve. You don't even hear that much whining from an alley cat.
Perhaps a minimum age requirement of 30 to fly a mainline jet is the next step. Makes about as much sense as the 1500 hour requirement
Military pilots are allowed leave active duty much earlier than two decades! They get their training, complete their obligation going into the Air National Guard before transitioning to the mainline carriers. Some stay two decades but many leave active duty sooner. Experience, not age is more important in my view and hopefully the 1500 hour requirement will not be lowered.
I just looked at that DL kid's IG. The 737 is his third aircraft in less than a year at DL! He must have spent more time in sims than on the line! Frankly, I'm surprised DL doesn't seatlock pilots for a period after investing so much in their training.
Egocentrics on social media are narcissistic and self centered with an entitlement sentiment. They also lack mental maturity. It is good to hire young talents but avoid promoting them to senior positions until they past age 35. Most in their 20s believe strongly that they will conquer and rule the world. That is why presidents must be at age 45. I wished all people were required to retire at age 70. If they desire to stay on past age 70, it is only allowed in advisory positions, not active roles.
“That is why presidents must be at age 45”
Maybe in your country, in the US the minimum age is 35.
The safety factor is real. Could a 25-year-old captain have pulled off the Miracle on the Hudson? Maybe with luck, but it took tremendous maturity and experience for Sully to make a snap decision that turning toward Teterboro or heading back to LGA would end in disaster. Contrast that to the CVR from the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 on approach to Buffalo, where the captain exhibited terrible decision-making and the FO worried aloud about her lack of experience in icing conditions: "I've never seen icing conditions. I've never deiced. I've never seen any- I've never experienced any of that. I don't want to have to experience that and make those kinds of calls. you know I'dve freaked out. I'dve have like seen this much ice and thought oh my gosh we were going to crash."
I fly mainline jets to avoid just this kind of pilot, but it seems that's not going to be as easy.
There are so many factors that play in here.. he is most likely the lowest seniority pilot on 757/767 at EWR and he probably traded for those trips.. he is not able to hold a line and is probably commuting to get the shots for the “gram”
Would you rather be higher paid on a lower level equipment on the route you want vs lower paid and taking undesirable trips (international with under 30 hour layover)?
The age requirement is as random as hour requirements.
Age gives you maturity.
Hour gives you experience.
A reliable pilot needs both.
Therefore, by the next decade "AI" should soon make all these pilots obsolete. By the time "Alexa" and "Siri" are flying they would have the maturity of a 5 star General and 50 million flying hours each.
It is definitely a new era for airline pilots. It's important to understand that regardless of age, pilots go through the same initial training and captain upgrade training, with standards set by the Airline and FAA. If you notice you have a younger pilot, do not be alarmed, I assure you they are qualified.
I've worked alongside many "younger" pilots, usually mature and a pleasure to fly with. While there are always exceptions, I'd argue the 25-30 year old FOs I've flown with are often just as sharp, if not shaper than some of the older ones. Especially during initial training, the younger ones typically pick things up faster. Not always the case, but something I've seen often in my career.
"I wished all people were required to retire at age 70."
Man, you've got some pie-in-sky shit going with you. Who knows, maybe you come from a country that actually takes care of its people. Must be nice.
In many others, including the USA, we've got 70-yr-olds working 2 jobs, to pay off that second mortgage that they had to take out in order to survive 3 economic shocks over the past 4 decades. It's only going to get worse, seeing as the projected median for Millennial doctors/lawyers/dentists etc to pay off their student loans is 37yrs... which will put most of them in their late 60s, without anywhere near as many assets or mortgage equity to show for it.
Retirement? Ha!
I flew F/A-18s in the Marines and never went to the Guard after I got out of the Marine Corps to go to my carrier. No idea what you’re talking about.
Using a bit of an extreme example there.
Even among highly seasoned pilots, you're not going to find many Sullys, i.e. those who can handle a situation to that extent.
Same thing with Captain Al Haynes & crew (UA232, the DC10 at SUX).... investigators took multiple crews of equal vintage, put them in a simulator with similar inputs, without telling them what was going to happen: and every single one of them crashed before making it to a runway.
Here in California, many leave active duty and fly for the California Air National Guard (weekends) along with a full time airline job. They do not need to go to the Air National Guard to get a job with the airlines, it’s just a career decision they make to work toward a military retirement and career in the airlines concurrently. My cousin is an FO with United and flies with the California National Guard.
In 1935 my dad started with UAL in 2 years he was flying the Boeing 247 he retired on the 747 so I guess the more things change the more they stay the same.
Sure, ok. That’s not what you said though, and the percentage of pilots who fly in the reserves or the Guard is exponentially lower than it has ever been. It’s the exception now and not the norm.
My high school senior son is heavily interested in this career path, we've been visiting flight schools associated with our local universities the past month. He's also visited AF ROTC detachments at the schools but i think he's ruling that path out; why delay getting started in the commercial world. We're lucky to have 3 schools within 3 hours of us with feeder agreements with multiple regional airlines. One intro flight he had last week the instructor pilot is nearly up to his hours and already has a regional contract in hand. Boy, I wish I had pursued this career path!
Another friend of a friend is 25 years at a regional. Even though his pay is lower he picks where he flies and he's home more often than most. There's a lot to be said for full job satisfaction vs only high pay.
What's wrong with that conqueror attitude? Actually go accomplish something rather than being scared to try.
To the great majority of the world who now know what he did, you are dead wrong; Sully’s standard is most certainly what most people feel is THE standard.
Here in Australia, we had First Captain Richard De Crispigny. His and his crew’s feats on that Qantas A380 years ago is certainly what the general populace down under feel is THE standard.
Respect.
I miss the pilots with 20 years of military flying. So much more professional leadership experience and discipline.
I’m a retired military pilot (27 years) that now flies as a first officer for a major airline. I fly with captains all the time that are younger than me. Every single one I have flown with is a competent, caring professional.
the university path cuts 500 hours off of the FAA requirement to become an airline pilot. In order to build those hours quickly and cheaply, you have to be willing to be a flight instructor which means dealing w/ all kinds of people. It's not the only option and not for everyone.
Swayne Martin is using his social media following to skip the line at UA. He is getting aircraft and routes that others have to wait years for. Assume UA thinks his online following can help with the pilot shortage.
As a retired airline pilot, I find these incredibly young pilots, especially being made captains, a frightening sight. Being a captain takes many many years of experience to handle the job, especially if things go wrong. Unthinkable when I was going through the ranks.
Is it legal to have a 64.5 year old CA at DL? Sure is. Is it safe? Maybe so, maybe no.