The engineer who signed the Tech Log on my last flight a few days ago used the term 'long term storage' for the majority of the 380 fleet, which funnily enough corresponds to TC's most recent quote. EK has always prided itself in having the ability to bounce back quickly from tougher times in the past and I suspect they will want the same agility again. This is tough to achieve if you don't have enough pilots to fly your parked jets and the lead time to recruit and train new pilots takes months.
If we see some 380s being placed into storage rather than being disposed of, it raises the conundrum of how the company will manage a potentially sizable number of pilots not flying for several months yet still keeping them as employees. I doubt very many will have an appetite for a prolonged period of unpaid leave.
It's worth remembering that behind each staff number is a colleague who probably has a spouse and a family to support. Losing your job here has far more ramifications than it does if we were back at home, since you are faced with the certainty of not only moving home but moving country and uprooting kids from school too, for those that have them and are in Dubai. A traumatic experience for all concerned and one that would probably test a few marriages too I am sure.
Good luck to all.
