".....never give up the left seat for the right seat - no matter how big or shiny the jet...."
Totally disagree. I gave up a Training Captain position on a dinky jet to move to the RHS of a Widebody. Salary is more and I'm now based - and living at home in the US. I have prospects of a wide-body Command in three years.
No regrets here - that said, I have made a move to a company in the past that I would say was "sideways at best" - and thats polite code for a really bad move.
Have you ever been to Dubai ? In August ? Have you ever experienced 60C ? I've said it before, Gulf Air are an historical example of boom in that region. If you have a family to consider, you have a lot of thinking to do...
Great place to get experience as a young guy - and then move on. Tha salary is crap at EK. Even with the weak US industry situation, I don't know of many US pilots clamouring to get to the UAE.