IMO glass cockpit time will be a lot more worthwhile for future applicants at Southern. A few guys that had no time in a glass cockpit had issues with the transition into the B777. It is only a guess, but they might start splitting up the applicant pools based upon the kind of cockpit you have experience in.
Right now the company is in a state of transition. It is slowly changing from a family run company, to a more corporate style. They continue to bring in new management personnel, and these people are starting to change things. Obviously in today's economy Southern's Management is still very focused on costs, yet they are trying to improve our operational efficiency with some changes that the previous owners declined to spend $$$ on before... But understand that Southern is still a product of the environment it operates in.
Our flying is still ADHOC in nature, and international in scope. So the flying is varied, and the schedules change all the time. To say that you need to be flexible, and able to adapt to rapid changes is an understatement. The company culture still reflects the old owners, but it seems to be slowly changing.
We just picked up a new contract operating into Shanghai again, which should be more stable than some of our previous flying. And everyone is hopeful that the 400's will bring in some more of those kind of contracts. Another major change the new aircraft is bringing on is that we are now training people as Second Officers, so that our FE's will have the ability to transition into the right seat of either the 777 or 400.
So as in the past, Southern is not for everyone, but things seem to be looking up.