In fact 411A, 3 or 4 engines, the number is really irrelevant.
It seems less than purely co-incidental that the apparent tack taken by EK management is absolutely no different to that which many of your fellow pilots are having shoved onto their plates everywhere else around the globe.
That management worldwide are carrying out a concerted campaign to have airline pilots pidgeon holed alongside bus/train/tram drivers is glaringly obvious.
An early post on this thread stating managements' attitude towards pilots, was reminiscent of a quip by the dead Sir Peter Abeles of Ansett Australia, during the 1989 Pilots' Dispute, which paraphrased was something like, "You pilots are the same as all the other employees and don't deserve any extra consideration (of your claims)"
And so began the "same as all the other employees" 0900-1700 work campaign.
Back to the present, and this mindset of todays' managers has convinced me that resistance is futile.
I now fly at the flight planned level (because the person preparing the flight plan is FAR more qualified than I)
I take the flight planned fuel (no more - no less)
I taxi at, or below, the max taxi speeds - because I have seen an accident report that attributed part of the cause of a taxi-ing accident being due to the crew taxi-ing 1 knot above the max
I am a bus driver. Except of course upper atmospheric conditions change on a regular basis.
But I am not employed for my knowledge and experience any more - I am simply (in their restricted thinking) a necessary bum in a seat!
Black is black...white is white.
Shades of grey will cost you more.
Once the airline to aspire to, Emirates looks like it has sunk back to the "sand diggers" levels of Lawrence of Arabia days.
There'll be plenty of the 411A's who'll drive your ships of the desert for you at cheep cheep rates, because (like 411A) they can't qualfy for a position with First World companies!!