I must admit to being very surprised by the lack of responses from the pilots at Emirates to the 2% pay raise. How does it feel to be valued by the company at the same level as the guy who dumps the lavs or sweeps the hangar floor? I feel this is an insult and would have just as soon seen them keep their 2%.
It is obvious EK has decided to test the waters and see what the pilots are made of (or to be more precise how little they are prepared to settle for). Probably not such a difficult thing to do when there is no pilot representation but what price do you put on loyalty? How much is it worth to EK to lose that loyalty? How much can/do pilots contribute (or maybe not contribute should that loyalty be lost) to the bottom line?
It might of benefit for those who still think Emirates is a "good deal" to read the post by ex-expat on "low paid uk pilots". And for those who may be thinking of EK as a career with all of its shiny toys maybe this "pay raise" will give you an idea of what you'll be dealing with for your career.