When a company is expending as rapidly as the EK and does not have enough experincied FOs ready for cammand, what is the most logical thing to do ? Employ direct entry capts.
The most logical thing? That, Sir, IMHO, is to trawl completely down the list of F/Os and promote everyone who is able to do the job first before recruiting one DEC into the fold.
Just because a guy has 10,000 hours vs. someone who has 7,000hrs, does that make him more suitable? That argument has been done to death elsewhere. Quite frankly, At 9,500hrs, I know no more than I did at 6,000hrs, with the exception that I am often humbled by the F/Os superior knowledge. As a four year Captain here in EK, I find it amazing that I still don't have the qualities to be a DEC should I resign and rejoin! Don't laugh, some F/Os have considered it!
EK made a mistake in recruiting DECs. All it achieved was to allow sufficient expansion rates at the expense of reducing crew morale even further. The DECs were only recruited as a last minute effort to crew the rather sudden appearance of the A340-300s. We were told, by our EVP, that no current F/O would be disadvantaged by the recruitment of DECs and that no Captain would be disadvantaged either. Wrong in both cases. These 'expert' pilost were brought in at higher rates than year one Captains, thus disadvantaging immediately those that had just bee promoted and every F/O with the required hours for promotion (6,000) has also been disadvantaged.
Many of you forget that, at EK, we have had four (??) changes to the upgrade and promotion policy in as many years and I could not quote the current policy, especially the fast track, but suffice to say that the F/Os that I fly with are all totally capable and able operators, they just haven't done three years here yet. Monsieur, That is not 'C'est la vie' that is just pure unfair.