My situation represents another angle on all this. A few years ago I took redundancy as a Jet Captain in the UK. Since then I have found other things to do with my life and can manage withour flying. However, I would actually like to fly again. Problem is . . . I have a young family. Any airline job I look at comprehensively trashes my family life. Part time flying would work fine but is simply not available. Also I am mainly heavy jet and am not prepared to bond myself to a small airline for a turboprop type rating.
In a nutshell, the job no longer stacks up. I suspect there are quite a few like me. A good buddy is retiring at fifty. He has scraped enough together to downsize his life and spend more time with family.
If easyJet or similar were to be more flexible in their working practices they could fill a few more seats I am sure. It won't happen and I for one, am going to leave my experience in my flight bag gathering dust on the carpet behind me.