Mr Gammon Flaps,
There are many F/O's who are qualified (over 3 years and meet the requirements) but not upgrading. I do not have an exact number, but I would guess it is at least 75. I know of at least 10 Airbus F/O's who are DEC qualified and are not allowed to upgrade.
The reasons are many, but the main ones are:
We are not allowed to do a transition upgrade. A F/O on the Bus can only upgrade on the bus. We do have a half assed transition upgrade policy but you must go to the boeing as a F/O, complete training and fly the line for 6 months. Then you do your command assessment and if sucessful you go to upgrade training. The entire process will take a year and the first transition course is May 29th. We are better off staying on the bus.
Those lucky enough to be hired on the boeing are upgrading as soon as they meet the qualifications. If you are DEC qualified you upgrade in less then a year. If Accelerated qualified than it is 18 months, and if you do not meet those requirements than you will complete upgrade training at the 3 year point.
You can see why the bus F/O's are at the end of their ropes. Airbus upgrades are currently running about 3.5 years with the company, even if you are DEC/Accelerated qualified, and many of the Boeing F/O's are not waiting 18 months. To be fair, there was a time when just the opposite was happening. All of the growth was on the bus and the Boeing guys had to sit. The problem would be solved it we would just allow transition upgrades: When it is your turn go the left seat on the aircraft that is available at the time. But for Emirates that is too simple of a solution.
Regards,
330 Man