I've got no problem with a 2 year seat lock for an AE. I always assumed the 9 month lock was for a guy going from domestic to international on the same (basic) airplane because some guys cannot get their sleep right internationally and they are zombies within weeks. For those guys, I've never heard of the company actually holding them to the 9 month freeze if they just wanted to go back to domestic.

The 717 is going to be its own category despite just being a differences course for some people.