A friend of mine is on the 744 as an SO and has been in the position for over three years now. They have started hiring direct entry FO's over top of him, with similar time at date of hire. The reason he has been given is that it is more expensive to train a new SO to replace him, while making him an FO. He's a good guy, good driver and doesn't rock the boat. He's thinking real hard about Air Canada at this point.