I flew Compass last night and the pilot and FO were both in their 20s. Flight was smooth and normal, but it had me thinking about the Colgan crash. I knew these two kids didn't have the life experience to draw on if they needed to act quickly, I just hoped they were trained well.
In the SkyClub I was reading about Compass's training program and it seems to be pretty rigorous (30-45) days at simulator training another 1 week ground school and 30 of home study.
The FA, OTOH, looked as if she was about to fall asleep on approach. There is no question, jobs at any airline wreck havoc with your circadian rhythms!
It is pretty eye-opening to look at airlinepilotcentral.com's pay scales for the regionals. Looking especially at their first few years of FO and Captain pay.
Do you realize that some of the most sophisticated, complicated, and expensive planes being flown today are being flown by "kids" under 30? They are the pilots flying for the US Air Force, Navy and Marines. Skilled flying is not just determined by the number of hours sitting in the cockpit but by the training and skill of the individual pilot. Age should not be a determining
factor.