Hans it is tough working for Emirates and getting tougher, tough enough for many to consider going back to europe where at least they are at home. EK has become for me and them simply not worth it any more.
As for dragging our employers through the mud I think that we should be looking to those who manage to apportion the blame. They are the ones who have ignored all the warnings and have 'led' us to this situation. It doesn't take a great deal of thought to realise that to constantly cut costs in an expanding airline was going to cause serious problems. There was plenty of time to plan ahead and develope our training capacity. Instead we even removed trainers from their positions as they were surplus to requirements to cut costs only to need them back a several months later.
We have persisted in maintaining rigid entry & upgrade policies which are simply unrealistic in todays market. This negligence has led us to our current shortage and requirement for the much resented DECs.
We could have instead chosen to develope the careers of those already in EK and produce all the captains we needed from within. Instead we chose inaction & continued to cut costs in the short term ignoring the long term ramifications.
We are now feeling the effects of these and other decisions. We are short of crews, pilots are not turning up for courses and pilots are leaving. The shortage is putting the strain on the rest of the line, a strain which is causing high levels of fatigue and associated flight safety problems.
A few years ago we knew far less about EK, but on the whole it was mainly positive. As the work force has grown, as has the demands put on them, the news has become more & more negative. The mud dragging on PRuNe is one of the symptoms not the problem.
Last edited by Shake; 18th Jan 2006 at 04:49.