The core of the issue is that many of the guys (not just the old-timers) do not want their families to live in Dubai. The reasons may vary, but it is a personal decision. If you love living in Dubai - good on yer. Enjoy it.
Is management going to accept this and deal with it, or bury their heads in the sand? The future of the airline may well depend on how this issue is handled.
How about trying a long term experiment? Call a series of meeting (on a day off naturally) for anyone intersted to come and discuss the pros and cons.Try commute/remote rostering for at least 10 months (two roster cycles). The main commute destinations will probably be LHR/LGW/MAN/FRA/MUC/DUS/ZRH/SYD/MEL/JNB. All these places have two flights day, allow three days a week for training/line bids and block the remaining four days for the commuters.
Assign rosters (no bidding) for the guys who want to participate in the experiment. Guarantee that they will spend ten days at base (two blocks of 5) per month. Put two of the more competent schedulers in charge of crewing the flights as efficiently possible, operate or deadhead (jumpseat) depending on what is feasible.
Revisit after ten months and analyse. Publish the figures and have another forum to discuss it. Ensure the whole process is transparent and cost-neutral. Then plan for the long-term. Reallistically we can't have bases until the 380/777 is all sorted out and we know where the aircraft go. But if we try it this year, we will be better informed when the bases become reality in 2008/09.
Of course I am only dreaming, none of this will evr happen
