I would be wary of bidding the 777 in Ewr as it is currently in flux and being largely taken over by 787. The wide body fo vs narrow body captain never mathed correctly IMO. Every single person that said “you can earn the same” was using min guarantee for captain pay and using their best month ever that was a complete fluke in their equation. I always credited 78-80 as a reserve 737 CA under the old rules and with the new rules I was averaging mid 80’s plus add pay I would have needed 115 hrs a month or more to come close. That’s a LOT of flying. The senior people who could bid trips with lca for training or the really productive trips is a different story.

It is a great qol and you do learn a lot from flying with people that have seen almost everything but the financial hit is there. I would also question when things slow down and the vacancies potentially dry up. I would rather be in the left seat at min guarantee if we do furlough or start displacing. You never know how long the good times will last so the common wisdom is cash the big checks while you can and hope for the best.