Originally Posted by
Nineshsimbers
dear all,
take a lot of the stuff said above with a pinch of salt.
I think we by now can say that as pilots we complain an awful lot. Which is alright, we are all entitled to have an opinion. However what has been said above should not put you off from applying to the job. Most are happy at EK, but those types don’t come here and share their thoughts, it’s only the negative, miserable ones that you see here and it’s not fair to make a judgement.
What has been said above is not representative. There are some unfortunate cases which have been mentioned above, some of them I know which are true, but don’t let it detract you from pursuing a career with the company. EK has thousands of pilots and here we have a few miserable folks, don’t let it bother you.
Keep in mind, every airline/country has its pros and cons. EK and DXB is not perfect, know what you’re signing up to. Do your own research and speak to a mix of people there.
I can assure you what I posted was not plucked from thin air and is the current HR policy. As for me, I am not negative but merely highlighting factual information and what I think is one of the biggest changes to HR policy since I joined many years ago, yet to those joining, it will be something they will be unaware of until they sign the contract. In short, long-term sickness now drastically limits your prospects of remaining employed, should you have another period or periods of extended time off due to sickness in the future. This was not the case prior to COVID.
Personally, I don't regret coming to EK since at the time it was by far the best choice for me and EK was not my first ex-pat gig nor my first time working for the Arabs. Yet, EK has changed significantly in my time here. Whilst many will argue that is the case at many airlines, I would be bold enough to declare that the rate of negative change at EK over the years has been far more pronounced than compared to what I hear from friends at other large carriers.
EK is and always been nothing different than a contract position, with the company disposing of you if they need to and on their terms with the employee having little recourse against such a decision. Setting down roots in the UAE such as buying property and settling kids into schools come with a significant risk, which is that the carpet could be pulled under your feet at anytime. No one intends to have long term sickness nor make an error on the line that gets them into hot water and you always have to be prepared to leave at short notice. Don't come here looking for a stable career but if you are happy with an ex-pat job that is relatively insecure, then you can certainly do a lot worse. As far as I see it, I get paid more than I would back at home and the extra money is compensation for the job insecurity.