PanAm brought back furloughed white hairs when the 747 was introduced. They had been furloughed when the 707 debuted, they were "not up to the new technology". The senior Captains were back on flight status lickety split when the
PR people reckoned the passengers would feel more comfortable with gray hair instead of young uns up front.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Huh? Furloughed when the 707 debuted? So the union just stood by while former pilots were put back on the seniority list? Removed because they can't handle the 707, but a decade later they're the sharpest guys Pan Am can find? So Pan Am recalls them and makes them 747 Captains?
And you think Pan Am had 'young' Captains that were senior enough to fly the 747 when it first came on line? How young are you talking about?
I'm curious, where did you get these 'facts'?