But, these days, beancounters rule and I daresay that existing rules can be easily circumnavigated in the interests of company economic health. Cripes, I am beginning to sound like Walshie !
As I think may have been mentioned before direct recruitment to Long Haul is not new, no rule change required or Irish CEO needed .
Some of us joined BA as DEPs quite a while back with no heavy or four jet experience and went straight on to the "classic 747"....and 18 months later some of those were sitting in the RHS of brand new 744's (Reason probably being the BA pilot short haul position was apparently quite lucrative at the time).
Mate of mine is completely convinced by a mate of his that the latter got straight into BA 747 circa 1997.
Entirely possible and all above board, as has been said right place, right time.