He took a chance, applied and was successfully hired. On the other hand, we have new hires on the other side of the spectrum. Some have had late career changes and are in their upper 40's to the lower 50's by the time they're hired at the major airlines. When an airline calls for an interview, sometimes they will provide a non-revenue pass to the headquarters, other times they won't. Also, find a hotel near enough to the headquarters to reduce any transportation headaches.
Airlines vary in the interview process.
Some airlines have the applicants do computerized testing, psychological evaluations, simulator testing, etc. There are a lot of people who have made a business out of preparing you for an airline pilot interview. If the airline which you're interviewing for has you fly a flight simulator, run down to your local airport and rent a simulator and an instructor for a few hours. You don't need to be Einstein, Chuck Yeager or a hot shot like Maverick from Top Gun. Just a person who'd be a pleasure to fly with, get along with others and do a good job in training.