Skaterboi.
I am ex military and an ex turboprop driver and joined BA SH 3 years ago at age 46. I can honestly say it is the easiest gig I have ever had.
Yes I fly with people who are 15 years younger than me, but that’s not an issue.
Yes I will never get a LH command but frankly It doesn’t bother me, in fact I have deliberately not bid for SH command as it’s about quality of life for me and I have been there and done that.
BA is not the be all and end all and it most definitely has its problems but show me somewhere that doesn’t, other than the night Moscow you can count on the fingers of one hand the number of SH flights that are still airborne after 2330 so that’s a massive plus in my mind, the fact you actually get off the aircraft to explore the city you are in is also a massive plus to me. The biggest plus of all is the ability to move fleets and reinvigorate the job.
there are always people who are unhappy, it goes with the territory, I believe you could put pilots in a bar and give them free beer and a free lap dance and we, as a group, would complain because it’s bitter not lager and a brunette not a blonde, there are 4200 pilots at BA and I can’t believe more than 100 a year (and that’s a very generous estimate) leave for pastures new that’s about 2%, I wonder what the percentages are at other carriers?
like I say BA is not the be all and end all and it has its issues, talk to ex military mates to get a proper feel of how it is but take it from me it’s perfectly easy to enjoy it as an “older” FO.