The above discussion is interesting because it all comes down to perspective! Those that think EK is great think that all the whiners are in the minority. Those that think EK sucks think that the guys saying it is great must be from management. One thing is for certain though; on this site you get a minority view. There are 1200 pilots and less than 5% post. So how do you find out the truth?
Well, as I have said it all come down to perspective. If you are a BA 747-400 Captain then EK is unlikely to be for you. If however you don't have a job or come from a lesser tier outfit then it might just be paradise.
I will get to the facts later but now I will tell you my perspective. I am happy in Dubai but not convinced EK is headed in the right direction. I came here because I couldn't stand 7 months of sh*tty Northern European weather. The sun makes me smile, grey cloud p*sses me off! This means that I don't mind it when it is too hot in the summer. If I came from Florida or South Africa I am certain the weather here would be a negative factor rather than a positive one.
One of the guys quotes that he has 2 cars and that is a great thing. I have 2 cars and one is brand new but only because my family were taken out on a roundabout and the car was written off. We have 2 cars because there is no viable alternative from public transport which is quite unusual in a big city.
We all know about the weather, we know about the back of the clock flying and the rostering. The old bidding system was great, the new system is still working through teething problems. Hopefully next month we will know for sure whether or not more guys are on reserve.
So what are the facts:
7 months of nice weather, 5 months of crap!
Driving dangerous! UAE nationals 4 times death rate of rest of world, Ex-pats 1.5 times.
Crime does occur. Burglary does happen, drugs do exist and the police will not take your side in an argument against a local with waster. There are a lot of kids with a lot of money and different ethics from your average Western family.
Schools are great but hard to get into. The academics are good but if your child is gifted or needs extra help there is little support available. It is excellent at primary level but less so at secondary level. Everyone talks about the outdoor lifestyle but there is little decent competitive sport or high level arts training because there are too few schools and pupils. The schools tend to be quite elitist in offering opportunities to a small clique of kids.
Most kids are coached at sport rather than playing it with their buddies. EK pay about 90% for the Brit schools, less for the others. They are building new schools so hopefully places will become available. A lot of parents begin to realise the shortcomings when their kids become teenagers. Often the choice is to split the family by sending them home with the dad commuting. Non airline families also do this; normally when the kids are around about 12 or 13.
Terms and conditions do change regularly. In the last 4 years the following things have happened:
Time to command was 4500hrs now 6000.
Accelerated commands were introduced.
DECs were introduced but guys meeting the requirements within the company were excluded.
The medical cover has been downgraded.
The requirements to be elegible for profit share have changed for the worse.
The credit rules have recently changed. Sims, Office days and standbys do not contribute to overtime.
Training T&Cs went down the tubes but have recently got better for the junior guys. The more senior guys will lose.
Recruiters and CRM guys T&Cs improved but have now taken a serious dive. This means they could do 2 weeks recruiting and then a months flying in the other 2 weeks and lose cash to a guy that does 10 days work. 1 day in the office pays the same as 1 hrs overtime but carries no credit.
Inflation does happen. I am not going to take a view on what the right level of pay is but just present the facts. In 1992 an F/O was paid 15,000 AED/month, now it is 17,000. In that time inflation has run at 63%. So in real terms spending power has been reduced by nearly 50%.
The exchange rate currently sucks. In Sterling, my pay has reduced from £4700/mth 3 years ago to £3700 now. I am taking the long term view and keeping my money offshore. I hope the exchange rate will improve. A new joining F/O today would earn less than £29k/year and take home about £2300/month with the current UK exchange rate. That might be tough to live on if time to command does slip to 5 years+
The provident fund equities has under performed the stock market significantly over the last few years and you will need to save more money to retire.
You can now buy a house in Dubai but buy carefully and either for the short or long term. My opinion only: the market is a bubble, most of the properties are being bought by offshore investors to let. Sadly there are not enough ex-pats to rent all the properties. There are about 300,000 ex-pats and nearly 30,0000 properties coming onto the market. 10% is too high a driver so in the short term guys will make money, then it will crash but if you want to live in a nice house for the long term it should be ok. Most of the folks that say it isn't a bubble can't remember Dotcoms. Last week an estate agent lady that was a housewife 3 months ago told me that, based on her vast experience, I couldn't lose.
You do not have much protection from the company, from the locals, from the house builders, the crap drivers etc. You still need a local partner in most industries if you want to set up in business.
So there, apart from my opinion on property, are the facts. At the moment it isn't bad enough for me to walk. Back to perspective, if I could get a similarly paid, secure job in California I'd be gone; but I can't.
When I applied there was never anything negative written about EK. As time moves on I read more and more negative stuff. The T&Cs have been eroded and the exchange rate (not EK's fault) sucks but like most people it is too much hassle for me to move at the moment. Were I sitting in the UK at the moment looking at the £29k salary and an ever increasing time to command with DECs in the mix I am not sure I would join; even for the sun. But....its all about perspective!
Cerberus
