It depends on 2 things.
1; What flydubai requires. That's this;
Qualification Criteria
- A valid UAE ATPL.
- A current Class 1 Medical.
- Minimum 12 months service with flydubai from date of Initial Line Check.
- Minimum 2 Successful OPC/LPC.
- Assessed as suitable for Command by the SVP Crew Training and SVP Flight Operations.
- Total flight time minimum 4000 hrs.
- 500 hrs previous on type and 500 hrs at flydubai OR 1000 hrs minimum on flydubai 737-800.
And 2; Luck. Point nbr 4 is the big one. You can NOT have ANY 'acceptable' CRM marking during those simchecks. From memory there are 6 or 7 markers that have to be graded 'good' or better. Not 'acceptable'. Any 'acceptable' mark will put you back 1 year. Although the training has noticeably improved the last 2 years it's still a big portion of luck with which examinor you get. They are upgrading about 4 guys a month on average, predicted to double within a year due to the influx of aircraft and massive exodus of Captains. This is what I've heard, not fact.
So most guys that do it quickly upgrade after about 18 months. Average is 2.5-3 years. As an FO expect around 750hrs per year.
As soon as you hit all these criteria you can apply. It's not seniority based. Depending if there is a backlog or not you can expect to have your interview quickly. After that is successfull you'll be looking at weeks to a few months till the start of your upgrade training. With many aircraft about to enter I expect it to go quite sharpish.