Some Stats
I did a bit of trawling and have come up with the following to show the disparity in upgrade times for SOs, depending on fleet. This information is based on actual seniority and roster data. The numbers show the relative positions on the seniority list.
01 / Airbus SO - 330 JFO / 19 Dec 07
02 / 744 SO - 777 JFO / 21 Mar 08
03 - 06 / 744 SOs awaiting upgrade
07 / Airbus SO - 330 JFO / 30 Jan 08
08 / Airbus SO - 330 JFO / 30 Jan 08
09 - 17 / 744 SO awaiting upgrade
18 / 744 SO - 330 JFO / 01 Mar 08
19 - 20 / 744 SOs awaiting upgrade
21 / Airbus SO - 330 JFO / 20 Feb 08
The bold lines shows the 2 conversion options for 744 SOs. The 744 SO going to the 777 is delayed by approx 2 - 3 months compared to his Airbus peers. The 744 SO going to the 330 is upgrading 20 days before his more senior 777 counterpart, but this is still 2 weeks after an Airbus SO who is 3 positions behind.
How much of this is down to personal preference?