Ok, I'm not saying the court isn't entitled to its decision, but - and it's a big one - how the hell can they say it was their age?
Who gives a stuff if the recruiters were 'young'?? Perhaps these women were too set in their ways or showed an attitude that wasn't what the airline was 'looking for'. Everyone knows airlines have a certain 'type' they want. You don't see me suing Emirates because they decided I wasn't their type. Yes, it pissed me off, Yes i was ticked off, but hey - they're the one offering the job. Unless I'm a mind reader how can I say they decided against me for whatever reason?
You could say the wrong thing or accidentally piss off a recruiter - then they don't pick you. That's not discrimination - that's going for a job interview. Sometimes you win sometimes you lose. I see one of the women went on to get a job with QF. Totally different company, totally different 'style' and way of doing things. Fairly likely she just didn't 'fit in' - for whatever reason - with Virgin. A company has the right to pick between applicants for the person who has the best 'job fit'.
Example:
Applicant A and Applicant B are both previous crew, both lovely, outgoing, etc etc. Applicant A may be a bit older than Applicant B. Applicant B shows during assessment that they are more flexible and adaptable than Applicant A.
Company feels that Applicant A doesn't 'fit' with that company, is too set in their ways and probably won't be happy after a while with the company. They feel they will get a better 'investment' (for lack of a better word) from hiring Applicant B because in their opinion Applicant B is better suited to the job. Applicant B just happens to be younger - so what. Yes, majority of DJ crew are young. Perhaps they felt that these ladies would be unhappy because they wouldn't fit in so well with the other crew (a generalisation on their part if they did but hey they have to make a quick decision on assessment days)
Let's face it, you don't hear of this many lawsuits happening in other industries, does anyone else think that because of the competition for CC jobs that rejected applicants get over-sensitive?? Sometimes you just aren't the person who is MOST right for the job and someone else gets it ahead of you. Too bad, there's plenty of other opportunities out there. Wastes the time of courts who have plenty of cases of severe discrimination (not trying to downplay these womens' case but some perspective for say, someone who is disabled being discriminated against....)