Originally Posted by
Bucking Bar
It wasn't at the time. Flying Tigers (later FedEx, had a 21 year old 727 Captain) both he and his son are friends. Jets brought explosive growth to the carriers in the middle to late 1960's. The "competitive qualifications" back then would shock you. United was hiring with a PPL and training!
Another dear family friend, recently departed, made Captain at Delta in his second year of employment (Capt. Sonny McDowell)
I obviously have too much time on my hands...
The show is set in 1963. Pan Am didn't start hiring until 1964. Prior to that, they hadn't hired since 1955 ("Skygods" by Robert Gantt, which is a great read, by the way). I kinda doubt they had any 32 year old captains.