The sweet spot for new joining FOs was around 2006-08, that was seen across the board, including myself in another mob, was only 5 years. Some of my old colleagues who joined VA in 2011/12 are still waiting and they think still have another 5 years to wait.
When do quick upgrades return? Well it doesn’t appear anytime soon. Having a look at some data recently, 2030s onwards certainly look like things will move on a bit. The next generation of pilots, ie those getting a license in the coming years, will have pretty good careers with very little wait required.
Virgin Management’s incompetence has probably cost FOs about a decade unfortunately.