View Full Version : EK, How Are They?
Been only 16 I cant count all my chickens before they have hatched soo the saying goes. But what I can do is ask for opinions from people who are either in the job or have very good knowledge about it.
My Question is this, Is working for EK all it is hyped up to be?
There are various airlines and countries I wouldn’t mind living in when older and EK and Dubai is one of them. I am also getting told by dad ‘tax free you wont know what to do with yourself’. I have had a look on there website and with all the perks (money they put up there) a first officer basic wage starting out, everything included is around £72K. Captain is around £95K. (1AED = 0.153 of the queens money)
What’s the lifestyle like, the rostering etc?
And mainly
How do you get treated as a pilot at EK?
All answers are greatly appreciated and am sorry if I got it in the wrong
sub forum.
potkettleblack
1st Sep 2008, 20:21
Mid East forum should answer most of your questions. Unfortunately the good ole days of outfits like Emirates and Cathay being the gravy train are now long gone and a distant memory. In fact finding an employer who will pay you even a half decent wage is hard enough in the current climate.
From speaking to mates the pro's of EK are that you get to fly some nice equipment to interesting destinations. Time to command used to be relatively quick HOWEVER management have been bringing in a load of direct entry captains resulting in senior f/o's being side stepped for command. I don't think the money is all that great for LH either. You would earn £72k after not that many years of service flying short haul for any number of Western European carriers. Finally the desert isn't really the place to be these days for obvious reasons.
Check out ppjn for information on salaries but do bear in mind that the top scale quoted is unlikely to be achieved for someone starting out in aviation now. Each and every year terms and conditions are being eroded.
dubble_dubble
2nd Sep 2008, 01:01
jet22,
Dubai inflation is at about 25% they say!
Do yourself a favor, read the headlines www.gulfnews.com (http://www.gulfnews.com) everyday when you wake up
Ive applied to the Etihad cadet program and im just making sure im doing the right thing if i do get accepted.
Your're life is going to be in the hands of these people, so its good to research and research and research whats going on.
No matter what people tell you, Dubai and the UAE in general is no Europe, and i just dont know how to furthur explain this point. Youre going into a muslim arab country. Im am middle eastern myself and somtimes i feel awkward being in abu dhabi/dubai where many are very closed-minded. I lived in this part of the world for many years and now im In Canada...
And also, dont be fooled by all the promo videos you see on youtube about all the nice buildings and lifestyle. You gotta visit the place to get a feel of "can I really live here one day?" cuz its different!
Anyways thats just my $.02 and good luck
Ive been to a recruitment roadshow by EK.
It seems the salary is not brilliant but what EK try to promote is the lifestyle.
Luke SkyToddler
2nd Sep 2008, 13:40
Being only 16 means you are still several years away from even being old enough to be allowed to have a professional licence, let alone get your first two or three real jobs that will allow you to accumulate the necessary several thousand hours jet time to even apply to Emirates.
So "what's it like to work for EK" is pretty much a redundant question, what you really want to know is "what will they be like to work for in 10 - 15 years' time"?
If you find the answer to that one, then please post it in the ME forum because a lot of us already out here would love to know the answer so we can decide whether it's worth sticking around :)