The good old days when you could retire at 55 on a full pension with less than 20 000 hours in your logbook and easily take a contract job with Gulf Air or Air Lanka on the L1011, or SQ on the B747 for 5-10 years until it was time to tend the garden in your country cottage. Expat terms were the way to go as you didn't need to worry about the upgrade and were only looking at possibly one renewal which wouldn't be a disaster if you didn't get it.
As you say, no longer around anymore.