Cannon fodder
Of course they don't think we're stupid. They know that we're smart people. They also know that we're suckers. They simply pay out as little as possible to keep enough guys not leaving. If they pay really well it's a guaranteed drain from their pockets; if they pay badly then possibly guys will leave, and possibly training/recruitment costs will go up. It's a matter of simply walking the line, and hope that the balance is in their favor.
They also rely on the fact that many EK-pilots have made a bundle on real estate, and unless there's a major market correction lots of guys are simply sitting at the sideline laughing about the money they made outside EK. Who cares about a few measly thousand dhs, when there's millions to be made in Dubai bricks and mortar!!! If/when there's a market correction, I expect a large number of pilots taking their profits and resign.
One thing we mustn't forget is that the profit share is paid to ALL employees. Since the unhappiness mostly concern pilots, there's no good reason to give away money to folks that don't require them in order to remain onboard. That's basic management/accounting. Something EK have proven to be masters of through the years.
Yes, I'm rightfully unhappy about the pathetic influx to my bank account. However, all the way back to Roman times, the only true winners have always been management, and I expect it will all remain so.
One question to all of us. Singapore pilots are busting with gold each and every profit share session. How come we're not all leaving to fly for SQ instead? There must be some reason.
On a final note. Now with the factoring, it's possible to fly 150 hours or so. That's some serious overtime pay. I think they're keeping some of the profits in their pockets so they can pay us when we're averaging 149.9 hours on the Airbus fleet. If you fly 150 hours, that's a 125% pay rise. The question is if you're laughing all the way to the bank, or if the bank man must come to your house because your close to comatose of fatique, and not safe to drive a car on the Dubai roads. We're so lucky that they pick us up at home, or it would all be really unsafe... We're also getting a 10% pay increase when they push the absolute flying limits from 900hrs/year to 1000hrs/year.