United Airlines Captain Chris Bales To Fly Final Flight With His Daughter As First Officer
The senior airline official will retire after serving as a pilot with United Airlines for 38 years.
The last flight before retiring is incredibly special for any senior airline Captain. However, this United Airlines pilot’s final flight will be extra special as he will get to fly it with his daughter as the first officer. Captain Chris Bales started flying for United Airlines about 38 years ago and will retire later this weekend. United Airlines plans on commemorating this occasion with a water canon salute honoring Capt. Bales.
A flight to remember
Stationed at Chicago O’Hare Airport throughout his entire United Airlines career, Bales is scheduled to complete his final flight on Sunday with his daughter, Allison Bales, as the first officer. Chris may be sad that his pilot tenure is ending, but he is also excited to see what the future holds for Allison’s aviation career.
While speaking to the Chicago Sun Times, Chris said,
“The opportunities she has, and the places she’ll see, it’s sad to think I won’t be doing it, but I’m happy to see it in front of her. It’s kind of the passing of the torch. I’ll be feeling a lot of pride.”
The father-daughter duo first flew together in November 2022 on a 12-hour journey to Tokyo, Japan—an impressive feat considering the fact that Allison had joined United in July of the same year.
As one would imagine, seeing her father progress through his aviation career was the main inspiration for Ally to follow in his footsteps, but the Bales have a long history of choosing careers in aviation. For over 90 consecutive years, a member of the Bales family has served with United Airlines, and 33-year-old Allison is all set to continue the legacy.
She said,
“Being born into an aviation family, all the stories I’ve heard, now it will be me having the stories and filling them in. It will be pretty incredible to keep this family legacy.”
The US’ retiring Pilots problem
Chris Bales’ retirement may be an individual harmless event, but it represents a growing problem in the US. Several important stakeholders in US aviation have warned about an impending pilot shortage set to hit the industry later this decade. Estimates suggest 50% of all commercial airline pilots will be forced to retire to conform with the federally mandated retirement age of 65. The mandate is also the reason behind Capt. Bales’ retirement.
Regional carriers have already begun facing the consequences of the upcoming pilot shortage, and experts suggest things will only get worse from here. In a bid to tackle the problem, US lawmakers have proposed raising the mandatory retirement age to 67. This move has drawn sharp criticism from some quarters, with the Air Line Pilots Association terming it as an “unnecessary risk to passengers and crew alike.”
