Well put WWW.
I was just going to add in my response to rmcdonal that his "old dog new tricks" argument is just too anecdotal. Young dogs have trouble learning new tricks too and there are plenty of experienced older pilots out there who are being promoted, doing training, learning new systems and aircraft.
I just don't see any evidence at all that an older pilot represents more of a training risk than a younger pilot at the recruitment stage.
As far as I can see, the only area where an airline could reasonably argue that age makes any difference is in relation to length of service. But with retirement ages already moving upwards thanks to new guidance from ICAO, this would be a very hard argument to justify. In any case, equally anecdotal evidence suggests younger pilots are much more likely to leave a Company after unfreezing their ATPLs.
The real problem seems to be that this is the way the industry has always done it and there is always resistance to change. It is up to us to stand up for our rights - otherwise nothing will change.
Luke Sky Toddler... The issue is not only about sponsorship per se. It is about recruitment policy. If you "require" an applicant to be either:
1) Type rated with 500 hours on type and 1500 TT OR
2) Undertake training with XYZ
...then option 2 should be open to everyone - not just those under 35.
I would also add that the tone of your post is quite unnecessary. We are not talking about "hot sh!t young maverick impersonators" nor "48 year old stockbroker career-change daydreamers", and I personally would prefer not be referred to as an "old git". This is discriminatory language and if you made similar comments regarding colour or gender it would be clearly unacceptable.
Ageism is as much an issue as racism or sexism, and don't forget that unlike these you will be amongst us one day. Hopefully your career prospects will be better than ours by the time you get there.
Your perception seems to be that "older" is somehow "worse", when in fact it should make no difference. An older person is not asking to be treated favourably against a younger person. He / She just wants the same chance to apply for a job on his or her own merits.
LD Max