Happy New year EK 330/340 MFF pilots

[MosEisley]

Just got this from a friend...

Dear Colleague,

The A330 Fleet is approaching the end of its life with Emirates, with the last aircraft scheduled to go in March 2017. We have 15 months to manage manning strategy and operations on this Fleet.

The A340 aircraft are scheduled to be gone by the end of 2016 and the final A330 aircraft is due to go out of service in early 2017. With this in mind, it now makes business sense for us to retain MFF qualified pilots to see the A340 aircraft out.

We will start transfers of MFF qualified crew to A380 again towards the end of 2016, but for now our focus will be on the transfer of A330 only pilots.

If you are MFF qualified and wish to remain on this Fleet until the end please convey this via email to....blah blah blah....


For those not familiar, the 330 only pilots are the junior and DEC pilots. The MFF pilots are the senior Capts and FOs who have been on that fleet for the better part of a decade just hoping to get to the 380 early this year. Now it looks like at least another year of night turns and 8 days off...

I guess we shouldn't be surprised...

[Rotating Bacon]

its a beautiful fleet, no jet lag

[aussiefarmer]

Unfortunately, it's been like that for years. Ask senior skippers... Seniority never meant much in this airline. Is more about being in the right place at the right time.

Not a particularly impressive way of motivating your troops.

[harry the cod]

Can't really blame management though. After all, the retirement of the 330/340 fleet was a last minute decision.......wasn't it?

What a joke.

Harry

[Avid Aviator]

Doesn't MFF training take 2 days, one of which is a commercial flight anyway? So almost nil cost to EK to MFF qualify the junior guys and let those that have done their time move over to the A380.

This is a tiny saving to EK and a huge lack of respect for pilot seniority. Especially the FOs who will have their upgrade delayed another year.

They just don't get it.

[Aluminium shuffler]

It is a tough deal for the senior 330 guys, but if you were in charge, would you double up the training load and costs by putting new entrants onto the dying fleet just so that the senior guys could go to the 380 a year earlier? I can well understand the frustration, but doesn't the plan make operational sense? Those guys will go onto the 380 later, and while the current roster of night turns is no fun, the 777 and two class 380s will start sharing some of that load in the interim.

[White Knight]

A lot of the very senior 330/340 captains turned down 380 courses... I personally know several who made that decision!

[CamelRustler]

I wonder if they factored people leaving over this. Cost of hiring at least 2 people. Just spoke to one captain and one senior FO who has been trying to get to the 380 for over a year and a half as street FO's continue to build seniority on the 380. He has decided to go back to his LLC. EK- saving $$$ does not always mean saving $$$. What you just lost in good will can not be calculated. We have been waiting patiently for the 380 transfers to open back up. You even told us what month to expect a transfer over. The second it opens back up. Surprise!! Guess who is NOT going. Thanks-

[ekpilot]

Harry,

Why are you so negative!