Another fundamental difference is that in the US you are paid by the size of the airplane, so it does make a big difference whether you are on the MD80 or B747. Since SAS has a common jet salary and you automaticcaly get the base closest to where you live, then changing airplane type becomes mostly a matter of destinations.
Out here in Asia we don't have a choice. We fly what we are told to fly, so being able to change every 3 years just for the hell of it seems like a pretty good deal to me.