Generally, you'd do 5 years of SH as an FO before being able to bid for LH (assuming taken on to SH initially). SH commands (excluding LGW) in recent years have been available at around the 10 year mark (although shortly after I got my command I slid backwards down the status list as commands became senior again for a while - think 13+ years)
In the latest bid (after 15 years in the company,) I just missed a 767 command, and anything bigger than that is still another 5+ years away, if ever!
Doesn't really make any difference, the route you take; plenty of people just sit in the RH seat of a 74, or 777 and wait out their time there. The only downside to that is that you end up looking like a fat prune - too much sun, and too much vino and red meat!
