My post 01 Mar 2004:
Time to Command??
Very tough question given the huge movement of the goalposts by EK management. The decision to forego the established seniority list in favour of DEC's and the fact there is no contractual obligation to provide equal (or in fact ANY) opportunities for command in the expat F/O contracts raises a whole new set of possibilities.
One of the issues I am surprised hasn't surfaced yet is whether there will be ANY commands for future or current expat F/O's in EK in the not too distant future. Think it couldn't happen; then think again. It may have already begun.
Everyone seems to assume because of the planned expansion rate everyone joining the company will get a left seat in the future. Everyone seems reassured by the management statements that they only intend upon hiring 100 or so DEC's to fill the "short term void" (which incidentally really does not exist; it has been created by the management to justify the entry of DEC's).
Just for argument sake, what if the DEC program ends up being a success in the eyes of management (due to either training cost savings, perceived increases in experience which you could argue we would attain by hiring an "experienced" DEC and keeping our very experienced F/O's in the RH seat, etc); would that not give them pause to reconsider the entire issue of "limited" DEC's?
Playing devils advocate, I would say that should the current DEC program work out as management feels it will then there is a very real chance EK could go the way of other Far East and Middle East airlines who have reduced or entirely eliminated expat F/O to Capt upgrades and keep the current EK F/O's as F/O's. This of course would not apply to local F/O's who would be given upgrade because they are locals. Is there 600 DEC's in this world EK could hire in the next 8 years (75/year)? Absolutely; and probably more so now that many Captains in "less than ideal" airlines around the world with less than 3000 hours PIC (who may have come to EK as F/O's before the DEC changes) are now forgoing application to EK as F/O's and instead are staying at their current companies to get the PIC hours to apply as DEC's to EK.
Couldn't happen?? Same people thought that at NASDAQ 5000! In my opinion it is not outside the realm of possibility and in fact very possible. And should that be the case, maybe the question everyone should be asking should not be WHEN but IF a command is possible (and it better be clearly spelled out in your contract if you are counting on it). And if not, can you afford to spend the remainder of your career in EK at the F/O wage scales?
My post 13 Mar 2004:
Not a big fan of 411A but in this case I do agree with most of what both he and Millerscourt have said on this subject.
Having come to EK during what could be considered the "better" times I have continued to see the terms and conditions deteriorate over the past number of years as costs continue to rise in DXB. I guess we all make the decision to work offshore for different reasons. I came here for one primary reason and it isn't the +42 degrees in July. I came here primarily for the money combined to a lesser degree with the lifestyle I knew would be reasonable in Dubai. I have not been disappointed in DXB from a lifestyle point of view (with the exception of the driving) but certainly from a money point of view things have not progressed as I hoped they would.
There appears to be no end in sight given our current management's lack of respect towards the pilots and an unwillingness to even acknowledge there is a problem. Of course this is somewhat of a world wide phenomena but given the lack of any form of unions or pilot representation within EK I feel we are in a much more precarious position than those at most other carriers. The parallels to Gulf Air in the 80's are uncomfortably similar.
I think the bottom line to those that are either currently coming to EK or those that are thinking of doing so as First Officers (doesn't apply to DEC's as the deal they are getting is quite reasonable) is to look very carefully at your current career. As I alluded to in another thread on EK commands
EK time to Command???
I think there is a very real possibility that in the near future there will be no further upgrades from within EK (or at the very best, you are looking at many, many years to get to the left seat). You have to ask yourself whether you can afford to:
a) live on the current F/O wages and conditions in DXB for the rest of your career at EK (because it does not appear there is any impetus within the EK management to improve the money), and/or
b) allow your career to stagnate should this occur given the only other alternative would be to again uproot and try to find a new job that provides a future command.
I'm not saying come or don't come; just saying have a very close look at it. I would suggest for those with families that have school age children (education costs are expected to increase another 20% very soon and there is a good chance this will not be covered by EK) I feel it is an incredible gamble on your family’s financial future to come to EK given what my "crystal ball" shows might happen. I really hope I'm wrong, not only for those that might be coming but more importantly for those that are currently here waiting for the command. The last thing I would want anyone to do is come to EK unprepared for the worst (unlike our EVP Eng & Operations who apparently at the meeting formally requested inside information about EK NOT be released to PPRuNe, thereby not allowing individuals to make educated decisions), blinded by the shiny airplanes and the beaches, and then be stuck in the right seat for the rest of their careers wondering why the hell they made the move. There is a tremendous amount of information on Emirates on this website now to do with this subject; certainly enough to help each individual make a knowledge decision.
I empathize with all the F/O's at EK who are affected by this but the writing has been on the wall
FOR YEARS.
For those who did not do their homework before coming here; I feel sorry for you but you were warned by me (as well as 100's of others on this website) back in 2004. You have no one to blame but yourselves.
For those who are still considering coming to EK; this might be your last opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others before you make the same mistake they did. Are you seriously prepared to give up your career to sign over you and your family (which you literally do) to this company??????
Disclosure: Multi-year EK Captain who has nothing to gain by dissuading others from joining. Doing my time and getting the hell out of here at the first available opportunity.