The uncomfortable reality here is that EK will need less pilots as it emerges from the pandemic than it did before hand. Even if there was a pay cut to subsidise those not flying, it would be simply kicking the can down the road. I don't have any views about the idea of taking a pay cut to help others since my question would be how long would we implement this pay cut for? Would it be months or even years? Many of those pilots that were recently recalled on unpaid leave are unfortunately sitting doing very little after being rechecked back to the line. The company had grossly misjudged that the UK would open up last week to inbound travel from the UAE and the company was planning on around half a dozen 380 flights to the UK every day by the end of May. Understandably, there is growing unease for those still on unpaid leave. One engineer in DXB told me last month that we already have a handful of 380s being broken up for spares now and with the majority of the fleet having sat idle for over a year now, many have damaged cabin fixtures due to intense heat damage. It will probably take many working hours and dirhams to get these aircraft serviceable again. Storing them in the UAE has proved to be a disastrous decision.
I was made redundant a few years before I joined EK and I remember it vividly like it was yesterday. I have felt the same bewilderment and frustration at having questions remaining unanswered. But life has to go on and you cannot take it personally. To do so only limits your ability to move on and there is life after Emirates and as pilots, we have lots to offer the world outside of the flight deck. We all worked hard for our ATPLs and providing you keep them current, your licence will always be there for you when the industry picks up again.