I fly for the more northern of the 2.
Quite a few guys have gone to the sand and there are a few on the way. You have to look carefuly into Ryanair before making a decision. We have modern new aircraft, and good pay (at the moment, but every new joiner is on a different contract!). With 5000 hours promotion would probably be in the region of a year to 18 months.
You will be made to pay £50 for your CV! And I think in the region of £150 for interview and sim! You will be made to pay for your type rating!! In the region of E24,000 I think.Its alot of money to kick off with and you probably wont even be on a full contract but be a contractor. The rostering is very good the contractors get 5 on 5 off, and you can work out months in advance when your off which with a family is fantastic. Full time you work 5 on 3 off and is excellent also. You will fly 900 hours April to April
You will pay for absolutely EVERYTHING in FR from uniform, to your medicals (and have to do them on your own time) and HOTAC when in the Sim, No BULPA, No Loss of Licence (stops in a few months) The pension is a Stakeholder plan now, so no company input for new joiners.You will have to take your own Tea Coffee Water and Food with you. When I say you get nothing you do get that absolutely NOTHING.
The things it does have going for it are money and a stable roster.
As a single guy I think its a no brainer, go to the beach! However as a married guy its a different picture and comes down to your family. If your family are happy with Dubai and spending time without you there then Id go there. If they want to be in the UK then FR.
That said with 5000 hours and looking at the two Em sounds great, I would look for a better company in the UK though. There are far better about, SLIGHTY less money but who treat you as a human rather than a number. When I say slighty if you factor in the perks and the fact that you generaly fly less with other companies its probably comparable.