Been there - Done that - Before most, if not all of you...
xxx
I had my ups and downs like you have now, with the devaluation of the US Dollar. Was I complaining back then...? No, I did not. Because it went both ways during my career which has been very long. And I continue to work and fly airplanes until next November, when I will be forced to retire because of my age, only because I need to. I need the income. I might even elect to continue with my management position (no line flying then) because my pension and retirement will not be much.
xxx
Yet I now live in a country that some of you, call the "third world"...
xxx
I remember the Octobe War, 1973, and my layoff for PanAm, and taking ACMI jobs, often contracts in the Middle East (Jeddah with Saudia), not exactly my cup of tea, but I survived. I took jobs, either paid in US Dollars, or in local currencies, with full knowledge that I would be an expatriate for a few years, and could be subject to the currency fluctuations.
xxx
I have known the US Dollar very high on currency exchange rates... Was it about 1981-1982, when the Dollar went to be almost near the Sterling...? If I recall well , the US Dollar was worth
well over twice what it is worth today. The companies that hired me during my furloughs had to pay a fortune for their US crews with US Dollar contracts. But they paid... They did not say "let us review our numbers", or "could we renegotiate this contract"...
xxx
I expatriated myself twice in my life, from Belgium, to the USA in 1968, then from the USA to Argentina in 1993. And in-between, I spent a few years in the "sandbox" with camels and goats for company, and getting my ears blasted 5 times a day by prayers on loudspeakers when I tried to sleep for a long flight the following night... But when I went, I knew what would be there and I knew that currency exchange fluctuate. I learned about finances with a Monopoly game as a kid... but maybe you did not.
xxx
You are so unhappy in Dubai, or Bahrain, or Doha, or Muscat, or Jeddah-beach-by-the-sea... You make me laugh. Your friends "back home", in North America, in Europe or Australia would be happy to receive your devaluated salaries, and fly your up-to-date junk Airbooses. You were given that choice a few years ago. It was your decision. And many of you dont pay income tax.
xxx
According to the numbers quoted above, you enjoy salaries which are higher than mine, yet I am 64, with 23,000 hrs and TRE/TRI management position in 747-200s... And there is no complaining here, from me. What happened in Argentina in early 2002 should open your eyes.
xxx
When I left USA, PanAm bankruptcy, I had to declare bankruptcy myself, lost the home I had, and the cars I had... Have you guys lost your home yet...? Then I went to live back with my old mother in Brussels... Do you guys have to live with your parents because you cannot afford meals and housing...?
xxx
When I got to Argentina, I was given a contract in Pesos/Dollars - It did not matter then, in 1993-2001 period, the Argentina Peso exchange rate was 1 to 1 with the US Dollar. At the supermarket, in Buenos Aires, I paid with a mix of Dollar bills and Pesos... Everyone was happy. My contract was a round and even $10,000/month back then, more than what I had with PanAm.
xxx
Then in early 2002, Argentina Pesos went down the tube... Way down. Banks were closed, riots in the streets, 70% unemployment, my airline nearly closed down as well (I am a veteran of airline bankruptcies) - and finally the Peso did end to be US$1.oo = 3.15 Pesos... Do I need to tell you that my 10,000/mo contract is in Pesos...? So see what was left. No complaining here. Now I pay my bills in Pesos, no more Dollars. And when on layover in Madrid or Rome, my beer for debriefing, or my cup of coffee are paid in Euros... no refills. No wonder the cabin crewmembers fill their bags with sandwiches from the galley. Can you guys afford a shwarma from a street vendor in the UAE...?
No wonder I occasionally take leaves to moonlight on Haj contracts for a few weeks to be paid in greenbacks, no matter how low they are.
xxx
So, learn from the old-timers... When working overseas, you shall be subject to currency fluctuations. It was
your decision - Good luck to all of you, it could be worse.
xxx
Happy contrails, with low fuel flow for us down here.