A lot of the above is incorrect.
Currently four aircraft flying, with a fifth undergoing conversion. European own a further 6 or so which the plan is to convert over the next 12 months. There is certainly enough work for 9 aircraft
If an F/O was to work 18 days per month for 12 months minus leave and ground school/sim days the salary is a whisker over £100K which isn’t bad. However the average is 12-14 days work per month
In a perfect world all new commands would be internal upgrades, but given that many do not have the hours or experience the need for DEc’s will exist for some time, but all FO/s who have the experience and pass the command assessment are getting promoted very quickly. The current 2 going through their command have been in the company about one year. Over the past 12 months or so approx half of new commands have been internal, and that trend will continue for the foreseeable
I agree that only operating to China can get a bit dull after a while, but once more aircraft start on line that new destinations may appear. It wasn’t that long ago that European operated 4 times a week to JFK for 18 months or so and Buenos Aries twice a week for 6 months, so who knows what the future holds.