With a 744 S/O RIN likely in the medium term perhaps lifting the vertical promotion prohibitin is about enticing some of the long term S/Os into the front of a 787 instead of displacing to S/O A380? I haven’t looked at the 744 S/O list to see how many that could apply to.
That's exactly what this is about. Realistically, only about 15 744 SO's would be senior enough for a 787 slot. On the 744 SO list the bottom 22 are junior to the most junior 380 SO, leaving the other 86 able to displace. A bloodbath it will be, say Yoda.
Of course, this only applies if there is a RIN...
