An alert from top United Airlines safety officials is raising concerns about safety culture at the third-largest airline in the U.S. downstream of its merger with Continental Airlines in 2010 and an increasing number of retirements due to the "Age 65 Law." Concerns are not limited to United, given the broader landscape of consolidation within the U.S. airline industry that forces the coming together of dissimilar operational and training cultures. This merging coincides with a large number of new hires to replace the more than 18,000 pilots reaching the age-65 limit in the next seven years. American Airlines is facing a similar integration with US Airways pilots, as does Southwest Airlines as it brings AirTran Airways pilots into the fold.
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