''Of course this doesn't address the lifestyle, bid-line , domicile etc, etc. But that's another case.''
I used to fly for an airline that had both As and Bs, painted them red and silver and was owned by a man who looked like he should be selling copies of the big issue for a living. We on the B aeroplance, the mighty 744 looked down on our bretherin who flew the 'inferior' A340-300 as we considered our machine was the biggest and the best. And I went with the flow and actually for a while believed we were the best fleet. Then after a while, I noticed they had better destinations, better layovers, more time off and seemingly a better lifestyle overall. And one day I jumpseated on a 340 and realised the extra space and the quietness actually made it a much more pleasant working environemt. -and I found myself thinking that perhaps the 340 was the better option after all.
There's a lot more to life than what type you fly. The type is only a part of the equasion. After 27 years in the industry, I prefer the job which gives me the best lifestyle with the best pay. Not that I mentioned lifestyle and not type. The type comes with the job. And as for the enjoyment of flying for flyings sake, that went for me a long time ago soon after I left the military. I can only recapture that on the few occaisions a year I rent an aerobatic GA aircraft.
I liked the B product, but now I fly A's shorthaul around Asia and the automatics make the long working days very easy. To be faced with an NPA in bad weather with terrain all around at the end of a long tiring day, I thank whoever designed that little APP button which allows me to fly an NDB approach as if it were an ILS.