Quick gouge...Ate dinner with GuardDude tonight (Malone's) and his buddy is 50ish out of 100ish on the 88 out of NYC and has only been with the company 6ish months. Read: seniority comes faster on the 88 outta NYC.

7ER is going to new hires but there are still enough guys in front of you to be on reserve for awhile (>2years...??).

Hold a line 88 = pick your lines (sometimes), establish a regular schedule (more predictable and <18 days ... normal reserve line)
versus reserve 7ER = can work the system to get airborne off short call on a "green slip" and fly <18 days a month, but it is unpredictable (compared to holding a line). You can't say either is better. It's just a difference between what you want to put up with right now to get to what you want later.

Remember, as long as there are bids (for awhile now) you will always be able to go back to the 88 NYC, but there's no guarantee that you'll be able to go back to the 7ER.

Previous classes had as much as 5 weeks off between indoc and training. Our class has a couple starting 15 Oct (we finish indoc 12 Oct), and the rest in the 76/75 NLT 29 October (2 weeks). The 88 guys are starting training as late as mid-November, but they'll be done and on the line before we are. 7ER training includes 76/75 OE, a type rating ride and then the international stuff in the 7ER to complete TOE. That is, longer training.

Bottom line, enjoy whatever you get now. 10 years from now you'll look back and wonder what you even worried about.