EK pilots..a bunch of mercenaries

[gatvol2006]

Expansion is a very fine balance between commercial and safety. Rumour has it that in the past top management have referred to their pilot group as a bunch of mercenaries and should be treated as such.

Hence the shoddy policies are drawn up that try to govern the individual out of the work environment. i.e. (excuse me sir, may I please leave Dubai on my days off?) Crickey mate, we are not a bunch of school kids. If I want to go to Abu Dhabi to visit a friend on my days off, I have to ask permission? Oh by the way its OK to be responsible for the couple of millon dollar aeroplane you fly including all the passengers and crew.

Medicals have to be done on days off, uniform collection on days off, visa applications for company matters on days off (oh and pay for the photos yourself!), and now you must do home study for your PPC's on your days off which will in the future be monitored on line to make sure you have done your homework. Oh and remember although its a day off the company can request you to fly at any time. So you can imagine how many actual days off you get out of an average of 8 per month! Thats why guys if you see a number starting with 208... come up on that phone of yours on days off, are you going to answer it? When you apply for leave, do you seriously give the correct overseas phone number in the block?

Here's the best .... Captains kids can travel confirmed business class, while First officer gets confirmed economy class! What a joke is all I can say.

Democracy or autocrasy is the million dollar question here. I am not an EK schoolboy, I am not a controlled EK puppet, and no I am not a mercenary. I consider myself, (as I am sure most do ourselves) ..... a professional pilot out to do the best for the company. The question is... is the company doing its best for us? Is this how to get a positive response from a professional pilot group?

I will leave you with that thought!