I suppose what's frustrating to many is how opaque the hiring process can be. I've flown with so many great pilots who would be perfect fits at any airline: many thousands of hours of total time, lots of life experience, great to be around on a 4-day, unblemished records, years of 121 experience...and they can't get a call.

Then you have the stories about guys getting hired at the majors at age 23 (this just happened at DAL.) And you wonder -- just how is this possible? How can a 23-year-old be remotely ready for the right seat of a Mad Dog? And why would that person get called ahead of, say, the 30 or 40 Y/O RJ captain with 10K TT and every other box checked?

On the other hand, I've flown with a 26 y/o who just got hired at DAL. I can see exactly why. He's sharp, detailed, a good stick, very personable, and will undoubtedly do very well. And at the same time I remember when SWA hired a guy who was a legend in base for being the most cantankerous, unfriendly guy any of us knew, in addition to scaring more than a few of us in the air. Quite how this individual got past their hiring filters was a puzzlement to all of us...