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[[header, right justified]] Aviation Daily[[/header, right justified]] [[letterhead]] 1001 Vermont Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C., 20005 202-659-3250 [[horizontal rule]] Roland Leiser, Editor Wayne W. Parrish, President Eric Bramley, Editorial Director William V. Henzey, Executive Editor Published daily, except Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays by American Aviation Publications, inc., in Washington. SUBSCRIPTION RATE: $75 for three months, $135 for six months, $250 a year, postpaid. Quantity and deferred mailing rates on request. APPLICATION FOR REPRODUCTION of material contained herein should be made to the editors. [[/letterhead]] [[center]] Vol. 176, No. 38 Thursday, April 25, 1968 Page 280 [[/center]] [[dashed horizontal rule]] [[center]]FAA DENIES ALPHA ATTEMPT TO SCRAP RETIRE-AT-60 RULE[[/center]] FAA has denied a test-case exemption request filed by the Air Line Pilots Assn. as part of the union's campaign to reverse the rule requiring airline pilots to retire at the age of 60 (DAILY, March 20). In an order issued late Tuesday, the agency also denied ALPA's request for an evidentiary hearing or arbitration panel on the matter. "We certainly aren't going to drop it here," attorney Donald W. Madole, who is handling the case for ALPA, told The DAILY yesterday. "We have several more tactical moves under consideration." Madole indicated the union might take the question to court or might set up its own arbitration proceeding. "We have tentatively explored" the possibility of arbitration with "various Congressmen and Senators, and it is my impression that they would be pleased to sit on such a panel," Madole said. In its denial of the petition filed on behalf of Eastern Air Lines Capt. Michael A. Gitt, who will be 60 on May 13, FAA said the retire-at-60 rule is part of safety regulations and "the function of safety rule-making... is not a matter for arbitration." It is unclear, therefore, how the decision of any such panel ALPA might establish could be made binding on the agency. Answering ALPA's argument that the rule was not based on sufficient evidence, FAA said "the petitioners have not presented any facts or arguments that have not been considered or that would justify a different position at this time." The agency also said the rule does not violate recent laws banning discrimination in employment because of age. "The validity of (the rule) ... was firmly established by the courts" in two 1960 cases "and is not, in our opinion, subject to doubt," FAA said. ALPA filed requests for other 60-year-old pilots in 1966 and 1967, but both were denied. The Gitt petition is the first that asked for a hearing or arbitration, Madole said, adding that the Gitt case "is the latest in a series. I guess there will be others. Although ALPA has asked FAA for a meeting during the week of May 6 to discuss the matter, Madole said "I doubt seriously that anything can be done about Gitt before May 13." Unless the ruling is reversed before that date he must retire from line flying, although he could continue with Eastern in some other job. [[center]] *** NORTHWEST AIRLINES REPORTS INCREASED FIRST QUARTER NET EARNINGS [[/center]] Northwest Orient Airlines reported yesterday a net profit for the first quarter, 1968, of $12,157,977, or $1.33 per share, as compared with a net profit of $11,433,609, or $1.25 per share a year ago. Northwest's operating revenues for first quarter, 1968, totaled $97,189,319, compared to revenues of $85,138,738 in the same period last year. Operating expenses increased to $74,715,202 in first quarter, 1968, from $63,778,187 last year. For the month of March, 1968, Northwest reported a net profit of $5,401,194, or 59 cents a share, as compared with a net profit of $5,032,410, or 55 cents a share for March, 1967. All categories of Northwest's traffic showed increases, comparing March, 1967 with March, 1968.
