Another factor has been the expansion of the potential pilots for hiring. Used to was, for majors (read: legacy carriers) one had to be 32 or younger, 4-year degree, pass a physical that astronauts could barely pass (a whole day at AA with an electroencephalogram and horrible diabetes test), vision of an eagle (20/20 uncorrected was the standard until the ADA in ‘92) and more than 70% were ex-military except during big hiring sprees. Oh, a be a white male almost without exception.
It would be absolutely unheard of for a 40-year old to be considered. Nothing against today’s standards, but those tight hurdles reduced to pool. The first change was deregulation, then ADA, then regionals with flows.
GF