<<...All they want to see is the wheels going up on that particular flight, whether long or short haul>>
That's it in a nutshell, tic, and quite unlike the old days, when management waved off flights, PanAmerican style, white hats and all.
It is a cut-throat business now, no mistake.
While I can find no particular sympathy for the EK guys, they were apparently presented with a much rosier picture when they applied, offering accelerated Commands, high(er) salaries, grand lifestyle etc, but rapid expansion by the company, together with a much higher cost of living in DXB, and least we forget, rather poor communicative skills by senior management, they now find themselves in rather deep doggie do-do.
What to do?
The Captains at EK surely have an ace up their sleeves, as there are quite a few offers on the table from other airlines (especially in Asia) for their services.
The First Officers however do not have it so lucky.
Even if they were Captains before, they are now playing second fiddle, so the demand for their services elsewhere is less significant.
About all these F/O's can do is wait it out, obtain a command, get a few command hours under their belt, then they will have a much better chance of employment elsewhere, if they so choose.
The bloom went off the rose with airline flying quite some time ago (especially at EK it would appear, and certainly more so in the middle east), but on the other hand, it still is a rather pleasent way to make a living, 900 hours or no.
Let the whinging continue...
