Fellas,
Not trying to rain to any parades here, but do you really think you will be better off at EK than you are at CX? Yes the commands are now happening at 3yrs for the Boeing and 4.5yrs for the Airbus, but will that be the same for a new joiner?
At profit share announcement time a few months ago, the big cheese stated that we were to have 156 aircraft in the fleet by 2012. At the time we had 90 aircraft in the PAX fleet. So by my calcs that would mean time to command is on the increase. There is a rumour that a large order will be made at the DXB airshow, but with all the 332s, 343s, 345s, 772s and 773s up for replacement, I am not sure how many will be additional aircraft. Of course we also hire DECs to fill available command slots as well.
Take a peek at the mid east forum, search the flight duty times at EK for example, and consider if you are willing for the change.
Of course you will not need to ever worry about any union making deals on your behalf etc, as we have no representation, and are told our worth each May.
It would seem that Bean counters are universally uniting to reduce our lifestyles and life expectancies world wide. Ek suffers from the same Sh@t as any other airline. I guess the main difference between EK and CX is the sand and killer traffic, instead of the crowds and pollution.
Good luck.
Don