CAVU,
Why, yes I too have had similar experience, but it was in the UK. Back in the early ‘90s I had quite a few interviews and spoke to some Chief Pilots in the UK.
I had around 8,000 hrs TT over 4,000 hrs PIC on Heavy Jets flying long haul. After a while it was obvious to me that as an American I was not going to get a position with a “Major” airline in the UK even though I had the right to live and work in the UK, as well as a UK ATPL. There were a lot of British pilots also looking for work. Two of the airlines I spoke to afterwards said that since I was 35 I was too old to be considered.
This was something that was on my CV to begin with and I felt that since I was American this was the reason I was turned down in the end. I spent the next few years flying for a small cargo airline hauling cargo nobody else wanted to carry to places nobody else wanted to fly to. It was an education and in hindsight I am glad I did it and flew with some excellent crewmembers. Eventually I went back to the US to fly for an airline that is now “Belly-Up”.
Life goes on and I am flying for my 5th airline and as we all know, you ain’t nobody ‘till you’ve flown for 7 or 8 airlines. I’m still working on my “Wings” collection.
Brother, I feel your pain.
Good luck,
Skippy