Flying fighter jets and then an Airbus are two very different things.
The guys I know who are still flying for airlines flew the big tankers and other larger cargo planes. Many of them transitioned to major airlines ten years ago or so.
The fighter and A10 jocks mostly work for contractors. None of them fly much any more at all.
“The fighter and A10 jocks mostly work for contractors. None of them fly much any more at all.”
Interesting but not in my experience.
Living in the DFW area, and a former (retired) USAF A-10 fighter pilot (A-10 is a fighter, see previous threads on that subject) and F-15E fighter pilot, almost all of my peers that jumped early or waited until retirement went straight to the majors. I know of no one that went to fly the corporate route or those rent-a-jet companies, and only two that I know of went with a regional (both wanted to be close to their original home-patch).