Reverend
Firstly, no apology is required. Your post is not far from the truth and indeed sums up the feelings of a great many Pilots in Emirates right now. If anything, perhaps it should be me apologizing for my early 'patronising' posts. It certainly wasn't my intention to appear that way but merely offer my view of how I saw things at the time. I too received patronising and aggressive replies for my views but also many personal PM's from guys looking for a balanced view against the prevalence of negativity. In hindsight, as a newcomer to EK and Dubai, I was probably not the best qualified to offer it.
I suppose the question to ask is, do I have any regrets coming ? Well, the truth is no. Not yet at least. Although I gave up a command,good money and secure(ish) Company, I couldn't have continued there until retirement. Hugely unstable rosters meant quality of life was compromised, days were wasted positioning around UK and staff travel was a joke. There were other issues as well. However, the flying was good fun, relaxed yet professional and you could have a joke and banter with the Cabin Crew. You looked forward to nightstops which were fun and social and above all, we trusted and looked after each other. There was a good team spirit in the Company and we didn't go around dobbing people in it behind their backs! We also, more importantly, had a fairly high trust of our managers and problems were dealt with in a sensible and fair way. The same cannot always be said here i'm afraid.
Although there are still many positives here in both Dubai and Emirates, there are many issues which need addressing. Like Dubai, there is a high element of racism and nepatism which doesn't sit well with many expats. Also, the calibre of some of our middle managers is truly shocking. I stress some because there are some stars amongst the dross. This is sadly true of some trainers. I've met the best here and without doubt the worst. If ever we needed a standards dep't in flight training its now. We lose good guys because they're simply taken advantage of and do not receive the recognition or rewards for their effort, much of which is in their own time. There is a culture in EK, much like Dubai, that not only should we be grateful for being here but it's expected of you to put in plenty of 'free' time. And if you don't like it, leave! The same old chestnut that we hear on a daily basis that sums up a mentality of ignoring the true problem and sacking the 'problem makers'. As we cut back on our original 4 day reccurrent to 3 and then to 2 days, we save money. Notice how in the latest edition of SAFAR the Company actually receives a grant from the Australian Gov'nt for training courses. As pilots, this saving is converted into home study on days off and your log on time will be monitored. I have no objection to home study but I do strongly object to being tied to my computer at home to do it. Give me the books to study while i'm away or provide all pilots with laptops. If we are reqiured to learn from CD's then the Company has a moral obligation to provide us with the tools to carry out that task.
This is just one example of how, on a daily basis, we have to live and deal with the decisions our managers take. Our commercial and advertising dep't are to be commended. Our recruitment planning and training less so. Aircraft ordered 2 years ago and now not enough pilots to fly them. What kind of a joke is that.We suffer from others mistakes but they still get their full years leave with their families. How as pilots would we be treated if we made decisions like that?
Like everything here, it comes down to money. Every single dep't here, especially those associated with flight ops, service delivery, crew control and engineering are undermanned. The managers reach their target and bonuses are achieved. Yes, we have secure jobs but will this continue every year? Only those at the very top benefit form this. It's called greed and whilst some managers may have moved on in 3-4 years with a nice CV, those of us who planned a career and offered our loyalty, are left picking up the pieces from dishonest and incompetant policies. This Company has massive potential but the last 2 years has seen morale plummit and guys starting to leave in numbers like never before. Not huge exaggerated numbers but an amount that should make the owners sit up and take note.
Until we see policies such as internal upgrades ( no DEC's), Flight Deck travel, provision of laptops, full compliment of Cabin Crew on every flight, more days off at base to recover, and a true team spirit, then people will continue to leave at an increasing rate.
Would I still advise coming? Difficult to say, as everyone's circumstances are very different. I intend staying for the long run on the proviso that there are some changes here, some of which are mentioned above. My views may well have become somewhat more realistic in my time here but i'm sure you'll agree, there's been much change too in these last couple of years, most of which has not been for the better. I'd like to think that as we stuggle to crew more and more Aircraft and as the passengers increasingly complain, then someone, somewhere will have the balls to say enough is enough and time to forgo huge profits opting instead for quality people and a quality product.
They are the very things that made Emirates and without them, they'll be the very things that destroy us. Let's hope that never happens
Safe flying
BYMONEK