Many years ago I got to sit in the jump seat of a Qantas 744 en-route Heathrow. In the left seat was one of Qantas's most experienced captains (I recognised the name), in the right hand seat was a young pimply long haired kid.
The two seemed to gel and it was a very pleasant work environment during this flight.
I have no doubt the captain retired gracefully, and the kid grew up cut his hair and started filling the boots of those before him.
Number of hours doesn't equate to quality of experience (or training). To prove that point an F-18 instructor was telling me about a time he was training a bored corp jet pilot with thousands of hours who "jumped ship" to the USN. He couldn't do the carrier landings so he was released.