Re: Latest EK selection news
Hi ETOPS, my friend, what I meant to say, and it obviously didn't come out correctly is that the people who joined EK as F.O.s 3 years ago, or even just over 2 years ago, made the decision to do so based on career advancement closely paralleling seniority. They did not expect there to be DECs hired in front of them. I, for one, would not have joined EK three years ago if I thought there was a chance of DECs being hired in front of me.
The comparison to KAL was meant to say that KAL have been hiring DECs for 25 years, so anybody joining there as an F.O. should know that will continue to be the case.
The hiring of DECs at EK has not adversely affected upgrades on the 777....yet, but it will. It has adversely affected the upgrade times of First Officers on the Airbus. That is without question. Our classmates on the Airbus, as you well know, will not upgrade at the same time as those on the Boeing.
With the further hiring of DECs at EK, the adverse effects on F.O.s will only continue. The rapid expansion mitigates the pain, but at some point the expansion will stop and some will be stuck in the right seat for a very long time.
Typhoonpilot