I think what is really driving this is, they are going to park all the whales sooner than they are telling us, so I can understand why the company would want to 'furlough off the top' the most old/senior 747 guys, rather than displace/train/retire them shortly, only to retrain their replacements after they go, but what about the F/O's who will be displaced?

They've got to go somewhere, assuming they are not old enough to take the early out.

Any early out program will only solve half the problem, the Captain half. Those senior F/O's will still need a place to go.

That being said, I fail to see a downside to letting 25-50 Captains go early, regardless of seniority list protections. Less displacements is good for everyone below them, right? Or how about just open the program up to any one who is over the age of 64 (or 63 or?) today, all the way down the list?