I have a friend who is retired from the AF and still has over 20 years until age 65. He is interested in flying for the majors and understands the path to get there. I think he may be interested in any type of flying, but does anyone have any experience with this career transition and starting from scratch? Is there a fast track program that anyone can share with me. Thanks

Nothing secret about getting the ratings. It’s just money. Getting up to 1200 hours (and getting someone ELSE to pay for it) and doing it quickly as a late starter is the key, and that very much depends on where you are located and how hard you seek it out. Once you hit 135 mins it’s pretty easy to get to 1500 and get ME time. After that go to a regional that will work your butt off - because you really would like to get at the top of the scale in a major before you time out.

Not too old, but there are no shortcuts. See this thread: Navy NFO to Major Airline Thread