Originally Posted by
Check Essential
I'd say that's a pretty well educated guess.
Flight Ops would be irresponsible if they didn't pay some attention to those demographics when hiring. All other things being roughly equal, the younger applicant is going to have an edge this time around. Not for any reason of age discrimination but just because Delta has to smooth out the retirement curve in order to maintain continuity in the operation.
They can't have half the pilot group all retiring within a couple years of each other.
Maybe. But even if they purged all age related computer and human biases and considerations entirely, they are still going to end up with a sizeable split. For an airline that prides itself on riding the leading edge of being selective/picky with their applicants, I really doubt there will be a focus on younger pilots. That said, they will end up with many regardless because the pool is filled with them anyway.