Interestingly (possibly)... the managers dream of DEC Commanders occured in Gulf Air 1975 onwards.
Unfortunately it did not remain a dream and soon a whole raft of BA and RAF and Cathay retired and LWOP from other major career airlines were direct entried onto the new Gulf Air L1011 fleet as Captains,First Officers and Flight engineers.
Their daily allowance was more than twice the going rate for GF crews and their salery was started at the 10years of service increment level....when I asked why... the explanation was they expect more than ex Dan Air UK pilots!
Also they were given first crack at the better GF houseing.
To improve Gulf Air First officer morale further... the Gulf Air operations manager at that time a Mr Peter Bruce Souster issued a memo to the effect that all future Gulf Air Commanders would be Nationals or DEC.. BA or Cathay retirees... if there were no National was available...another board of directors dream that eventually turned into an operations department nightmare...this memo was cancelled after the number of excellent GF Captains and first officers resigned to go to airlines such as Laker, SIA and Cathay.
Even flight engineers decided to walk or resign and some joined BA for a career, life style, and pension....all highly ready trained previousely for GF by BA at great cost... on LVP on the L1011.
Some crew even went to Saudia..which showed just how peeded off people were as Saudi was not considered the ideal airline career.
Some Gulf Air Captains even took F.O. positions with Cathay.
Company loyalty just fell apart in three years thanks to DEC policy and other attacks on terms and conditions.
All this eventually proved so not cost effective that even the management noticed that quality career first officers and flight engineers now refused to join GF and to top it all off the BA and Cathay Commanders already here decided they did not like non union treatment much, or the min rest, and only 28day rosters, issued late and had the nerve to say so and when ignored resigned or jumped ship.....after about four years it all went away and things got back to normal....however the poison had been laid and the spirit of the operations department destroyed...now as soon as someone got a command they then went to SIA or basically anywhere....and to prove a point some of the fully funded from zero flight time local pilots did too!...
This GF management policy did continue in other areas of terms and conditions and eventually IMHO progressively ratcheting down the terms and conditions produced a series of serious incidents and eventually the A320 crash and has resulted in the past six years of misery and problems and caused Gulf Air to arrive at what it is today....I find it very interesting (seeing what these policies produced at Gulf Air) why other airlines now follow this same management style 30+ years on....maybe I do not see the management "bigger picture" and only remember the horror of the Gulf Air A320 crash shown on the BBC TV when I had been retired....I feel the first drop of GF crash poison was laid all thoes years ago....and I feel the results at EK could be the same....someone once said..."Forgive them father for they know not what they do"...maybe that is why they are called managers and not pilots and why I do not understand it all.
