4PW's, It is true. I am a moderately senior Captain with Emirates and my basic salary is Dhs29,000, that is just US$7900. Yes, It is tax free.
I fly nearly 100 hours a month across the night time and different time zones, I get Dhs400 (US$108) every hour above about 78 hours a month, there is no duty pay. I get an allowance when I check in at the comapny hotels, but I am nearly always spending in excess of the allowance but I do enjoy my time with my colleagues as it is the only time that I can have a social life with so few days off in Dubai. I get a company provided villa and could, if I wanted to, take the housing allowance instead to rent on my own, but the rents go up very much each year. I get a car to pick me up and take me to work. I have been here 6 years and why am I am looking at other jobs now? Because the inflation here has made the spending power less and we are being treated badly by the managers who take all credit for all the hard work that we all do. I know that this exists elsewhere, but I would rather that I earned US$12000 a month for it.