Sorry Sispanys but that is incorrect. Emirates, Etihad, Gulf Air and Qatar are all losing pilots and currently short. GF and EK are the best off at the moment - meaning their shortages are not causing may problems, but the others are hurting.
Etihad has drastically changed their rostering practices to get their pilots to fly more (see complaints on this website) and Qatar has been notoriously short for a long time and have dropped their entry requirments.
Emirates had plans to hire almost 600 pilots this but reduced that to under 400 now because they cannot handle the hiring and training of that number. This means either grounding aircraft or flying them less efficiently OR, as most airlines in this region are doing, by pushing their pilots to work harder.
Sara, one problem is that PAY is not the only consideration. As I mentioned, airlines are pushing the boundries of what is considered safe when it comes to how hard they are pushing their pilots. Etihad has pilots flying to Europe, having 12 hours off and the flying back only to have 12 hours again before their next flight. Emirates has a 17 hour flight to Huston followed by 24 hours rest and then a 16 hour flight back. It does not take a genius to see how these types of patterns cause fatigue.
So pilots are leaving the region due to the poor pay AND the poor conditions.
The largest problem though Sara is the lack of EXPERIENCED pilots. You can reduce requirements to hire more pilots and as Sispansys the requirments here are higher then many major airlines elsewhere. The difference is that a major airline in the US or Europe will hire a pilot who can expect to be a first officer for more than 10 years. This allows time to train that pilot and give him/her the experience they need to operate as a captain.
With pilots at Emirates moving from first officer to captain in 3 years they cannot afford to hire inexperienced pilots. What consitutes 'experience' can vary by opinion but there is no doubt that world wide there is a shortage of experience especially in the position of captain.
It is this issue that will affect the Middle East and already is. Gulf Air's accident several years ago was a perfect example. A VERY inexperienced captain with an inexperienced first officer. There were company politics involved in that accident but the fact is the pilots were COMPLETELY at fault.
Gulf Air recovered from that and last year after a large exodus of pilots they increased their pay package to levels above those of Emirates and Etihad. They have realized the value of the experience they have and are atemptng to keep it.
The other Gulf airlines are expanding too rapidly to make a mistake in their hiring and pilot retention practices. As of right now they do not seem to be doing well in those areas. You only have to read through this forum to see the level of discontent. While I think many poster on this site have, in my opinion, extreme views on the pay and conditions here (at least in some cases) I think that the vast majority of pilots in the Middle East are concerned about the poor pay and, more significantly, the declining working conditions. The declining dollar and inflation are of great concern.
Many pilots are leaving because almost every airline on the planet is hiring!!!! Pilots can go where they please and, while they are sometimes somewhat restricted due to issues like seniority at the moment this is not an issue in many regions and companies. Even Air France and Austrian airline are hiring direct entry captains!!!!!!!
Sara, let me put it this way. If I was consulting or giving advice to the rulers in the Middle East I would say this. You have to design a pay package and design conditions that will kepp the pilots you have and attract the ones with the experience and skills you need. There is a LARGE focus now on the Middle East. The world knows about Dubai, UAE, Qatar etc and you see their ads every day on CNN, TV around the world and company and country ads across the globe. The world is watching.
The countries and the airlines CANNOT afford an accident!!!!! They certainly cannot afford an accident that is caused by (or percieved as caused by) inexperienced pilots, poor maintenance or any other 'cost cutting' or '3rd world' factors. I mean no disrespect when I say 3rd world, but the fact is in much of the world knowleadge of the Middle East is poor and it is viewed as an 'emerging' area. An accident would simply solidify that view.
The world is competing for pilots (and many other skills) and the companies inthe Middle East have to fight for that talent. If they want to grow as they plan they still need skilled foreign labour and they have to pay for that skill - firstly because everyone else is fighting for it and secondly because to attract people and get them to leave their home countires they have to make it attractive.
The airlines in the ME are currently not very attractive.