I think many pilots see this through rose coloured glasses and greatly inflated egos. In the 1940’s young men 25, flying bombers over Europe etc, were considered old! In the “unmentionable” years around 89/90 unmentionable airlines were shoehorning all sorts of has beens into the left hand seat to get their airlines back in the air.
Airliners did not fall out of the sky because they were being piloted by people of questionable background / age or experience.
If someone meets the standards set by reputable airlines, regardless of age or experience … so be it. The topic “Qantas bombs out in LOSA audit??” should be enough to silence the wingers. Get a life …. I am sure there are many fine GA pilots out there who given half a chance will make fine professional airline pilots, regardless of their perceived level of so called airline experience.
