Sir - I read with dismay in Flight International that most jobs advertised call for commanders, chief pilots, and captains who are in their fifties, while the UK Civil Aviation Administration has extended the age limit of these categories.
It seems a strange irony that many of the young men in whose careers their parents have invested do not seem to "make it" in the aviation world - not because they are not good pilots, but because they do not have a type rating.
Airlines will only gain a commercial advantage in a competitive sector by investing in aspiring pilots with more than 700h experience and by holding on to those pilots when they become productive.
No aspiring pilot should, as Emirates advises, "...think well of us, even if they are rejected". There should be some basis for such a rejection.
It is time for the airlines to get their priorities right, and give aspiring pilots a chance. They are, after all, the potential customers of tomorrow, and should not be failed. It is only with the help of the airlines that pilots can have a better tomorrow and jobs can be created rather than saying that the demand is more than the supply.
There is not a perfect human being, so there can never be a perfect pilot.
Name withheld
London, UK
Source: Flight International
