Did I miss that the majors are hiring???
For those comparing Emirates to Delta, NW, United, Continental etc.......did I miss somewhere that these companies are hiring or will be hiring anywhere in the near future? From what I hear in the states these companies will and are laying off employees. There is no projected growth at these companies. Many friends at these companies have been furloughed after 9/11 and now they are called back there and still sit at the bottom of a seniority list with no hope for upgrade in the next 10 years. They also worry they will be layed off in the fall. So what Emirates has to offer is job stability, a pay check, the potential for profit sharing, a quick upgrade on the best planes in the sky, and by the way they are HIRING. Good luck getting a job at a US company right now. As far as I know only Netjets is hiring but they have over 10,000 qualified applicants on file. I am not saying you should ever leave a major US airline for Emirates, but if you are at other carriers with the potential for furlough, no hope for upgrade, and pay cuts eminant then Emirates is a great option. As far as saving money run the numbers yourself. Make a budget, take into account all your expenses and see what you will save. Make sure to put in an "other" category on the budget that has some extra money for unforeseen things. Also until you make captain at EK I suggest no American Schools for your kids and no maid. By cutting those two things out you can save about $2,500 a month right there. Those not saving money usually are paying extra for the maid and American Schools. American Schools for 3 kids runs about $2,000 a month for primary age kids. The Intl. and British schools will provide a great education and most US colleges (except maybe Ivy League) do not care which school your kids go to. Anyway, when the majors do start hiring maybe 5 years from now if you go to Emirates now then you will have wide body Captain time and if you hate Dubai then you leave. If you love it and stay , then with some budgeting and commitment to saving you will retire early 20 years down the road with enough money in the bank to do so.