I have quite a few mates at EK. It is interesting to chat with them about how things are going there. Until recently trying to find time to chat with the Airbus drivers was hard to do as they were always at work. Now it seems the Boeing drivers are also on the busy rosters.
I have found those that just treat EK as any other job,and leave the office politics alone are happy campers. These are normally the ones that live in areas that are not surrounded by other EK pilots. The fellas that are living in the EK ghettos, surrounded by other EK pilots, do not seem to be able to get away from the company. These seem to be the ones that are aging before there time, as they can not step a foot out of their house without being depressed by another story or rumour of woe from the company. Unfortunately, where you get to live is determined by the EK housing department, and once put somewhere you are stuck, unless rents go up, and the company makes you pay for a move somewhere cheaper. Last time I was in DXB, I was shown the new Villas which are to house 600 to 800 EK pilots, and which will be finished shortly. These stand in the middle of the desert, far away from the schools and shops and restaurants etc. If the effect of living surrounded by 83 other pilots close to town can be depressing, I can only try and imagine the effect of being surrounded by 799 in the middle of nowhere.
All those I know within the company reckon it has gone dramatically down hill in the past few years. But this is also the case with those I know at SQ, CX, KA, QF etc etc.
It is interesting that EK is now conducting SIM assessments outside of DXB. I wonder if word has got out that the days of quick commands in the desert are gone, and the applicants for FO have dried up. I was recently told that EK is looking for 100 direct entry captains this year alone. They already have 700 FOs employed, so I would figure that command for a new joiner now must be closer to 7yrs than the 3yrs it was, or to 3.5 to 4yrs for a Bus FO there now.
With the new goings on at Jet star, the unease at QF and the new CX FO positions on the east coast, things are far from boring in Oz aviation at the moment.