I think your sentiment is misguided.

Experience is no substitute for education, and education is no substitute for experience. The mom and pop 1500 hour pt. 91 guy falls short in education. The best compromise is to balance the two. Is 800 hours ideal? no. However, the educated 800 hour pilot has a stronger foundation to build on and has some experience to back it up.

The learning curve of a young pilot, be it CFI or Military, is steepest in the first few hundred hours. I would venture to say that ~1000 hours and strong educational background is a realistic compromise to begin training at an airline.