six7: You're right: this used to be the cream of contracts but that was in the old days when ANA ran the show. Now there's a rag-bag group of managers from outside and 20 yr old new grads in their first real job who act like this is a school project to them, but they have serious influence over your QOL.
Re Don Julio's post: mostly right, except for upgrade policy. There are 2 seniority lists, one for locals and one for all others. The upgrade for locals is guaranteed as soon as they have the required hours or New joining local pilots with good experience apparently have a guaranteed upgrade after 18 months. For guys on the western seniority list, the upgrade is around 10-12 years, and will likely get longer as they contract the business and lose charters due to rookie mistakes.
Also, being on the western SL, you'll be used in place of local pilots. eg they need a duty pilot for sim - they will DH you from USA or Europe then put you in sim the next morning to avoid inconveniencing the local pilot on one of his standby days. Need a stooge to put in the sim for a JCAB spot check - always send a western guy half way round the world for a potentially career-altering check instead of using a local guy who lives an hour away and is adjusted to local time.
If you want to come here, dont do it for the upgrade or the worthless 747 rating. PM me if you have a specific question