MiniCooper
Welll your friend lost his job back home, and was able to get one with EK. And in 3 fast years he will be back in the left seat again. No big deal. If he cant accept it, then the right thing to do is to resign.
One signs a contract, with the possibility of a command within a certain time, but the FOM clearly explains the principles.
I have flown with many ex commanders, actually almost all but the former cadets, and noone is whinning about it. Some are actually happy to get the oppotunity to see things from the RHS seat.
I only hope that EK will give transition upgrades when they run out of B777 FOs. That would be a bonus!
I would certainly call a pilot who has flown one type of aircraft in one type of environment for the last 20 years full of experience. Very few pilots get the chance to fly truly worldwide. Cant really name an airline that flies to Greenland and Australia...