The Supreme Court today has granted a pilot, demoted from captain by Air New Zealand once he turned 60, leave to appeal a Court of Appeal decision in the airline's favour.
David McAlister, 64, had spent 35 years with Air NZ and had been a flight instructor, chief pilot and pilot in command (PIC).
But when he turned 60 in 2004, he was informed by Air NZ that he could no longer fly "unencumbered" outside of the Tasman and therefore - according to company policy - faced demotion.
Mr McAlister challenged the decision in the Employment Court and won in what was described as a ground-breaking decision.
Judge Coral Shaw sympathised with the airline's position, but said there was evidence Mr McAlister had been treated less favourably than younger pilots with the same qualifications and skills and that constituted discrimination.
The airline went to the Court of Appeal, which ruled it was incorrect to compare Mr McAlister's situation with that of a younger pilot.
Referring to the Employment Relations Act 2000, it found the question should have been whether other employees in the same situation would have also faced demotion.
It found the Employment Court had "erred in law in reaching its conclusion" by making the wrong comparison.
Mr McAlister went to the Supreme Court, which today granted him leave to appeal the Court of Appeal ruling.
The approved ground of appeal is whether the demotion occurred by reasons of a prohibited ground of discrimination, namely his age, under the terms of a section of the Employment Relations Act.
From November 2006 the International Civil Aviation Organisation raised the age limit for pilots to 65, bringing it in line with most countries' mandatory age limits.
