I think you might have that story wrong Mumbai. I know of several 3 year and 6 month guys scheduled for an airbus course next January, but i've not heard of anyone being planned for a transition upgrade since this last batch. That makes the earliest upgrade courses on the airbus to be 4 years now, and that is of course subject to change. I know many of these individuals and to a person they should have been given the opportunity to upgrade over each and every DEC that has come to EK.
I do agree with you Ixnat, that to lump all pilots of a certain nationality into one category based on just a few examples, is foolish. My point is this. Since i joined EK i have flown with Americans off and on. They were typical of most pilots at EK at the time. Lately, since the push for DEC's, this has not been the case. Perhaps the BM's and those of his kind have stood out recently and people have labelled them as typical examples of an American DEC. Those individuals more likely to spend time schmoozing in the bosses office than the average new joiner for example.
It does fit a pattern here though and that is all i'm saying. When the job becomes less desirable and the need more apparent for the company, in all likelihood the standard will drop. Perhaps I have only seen the worst of the bunch. Its just that in all facets of the job the general sentiment from those i fly with, is that this is the reality.