There is no chance of the world’s pilot demand being satisfied by the traditional slow drip of GA and military pilots. So, the industry has crafted the new legend that low time pilots are entirely as safe and skilled as their rapidly aging senior crew.
Two observations:
1. Modern transport aircraft are an order of magnitude more reliable than prior generations. A young pilot will likely do 3000 hours or so before command, and that will be mostly the same hour 3000 times.
2. The paralysing fear of litigation prevents many airlines from sharing their collective experience in-house. Hence, only a very few lessons are passed on for reflection. The day-to-day “I learned about flying from that” is almost completely lacking. There remains of course rumours and allegations wherever drinks are hoisted, but those are rarely accurate or informative.
I sometimes despair about the state of the industry-while the same reliability that I mentioned above keeps getting better, its not perfect, and can be compromised by management directive. That said, the young people with whom I fly seem earnest and capable. If the manufacturers can once again build an honest aeroplane without eight implied asterisks in every chapter of the FCOM then inexperience may in fact not matter. Except when my family is onboard, of course.