"basically you are not going to go straight onto a 747 or any 2 crew longhaul ETOPS aircraft until you have unfrozen the ATPL"
Not true Lucifer. BA allow non-ATPL pilots to fly the 767 on 2 crew ETOPS flights. The annual conversion bid, which has just been published, has pilots with less than two years in BA converting to the 747-400 just as soon as they can unfreeze their ATPL.
Airclues