Originally Posted by
SimoFly
Ex EK? interesting that you raise the language requirement. I guess you speak Arabic then....
Oh wait, EK doesn't require pilots to speak Arabic, despite that, since working in EK, I learned the basics so that I can be respectful to the locals who are giving me a good salary, training, accommodation and many other things that in my country I will never get in a million years.
Putting a language requirement in place especially at A1 level is only a way to alienate people (you basically know the letters, numbers, few courtesy questions and sentence structure) .
A1 level will never be of any help to engage in a meaningful conversion and you put yourself in a position to be ridiculed by your colleagues because of your funny accent.
Imagine for a moment to be in an emergency situation with that knowledge of Dutch language.
I mentioned above my experience in the Netherlands, it's up to you to listen or not.
KLM always had a language requirement. Like most flag carriers. Lufthansa is still a no go as the whole recruitment process is in German. EK is way more international than KLM or any European Flag Carrier.
What I am trying to say is that for your own sake it's better than you try and learn the language spoken by 99.9% of the company. Captains in KLM actually still go to the cabin personally and speak to the passengers directly in Dutch to explain if there is a disruption etc. Most KLM passengers expect that the Captain speak dutch hence the requirement.
I don't think I have ever seen a Captain in EK leave the FD let alone say hi to the passengers
