If the desert is so rosy then why this thread :
http://www.pprune.org/middle-east/39...nations-4.html
Before I was hired by SAA, I flew on EK a few times on my way to a contract and even stopped over for a night in Dubai on one trip. All the ex-SAA or ex-SA pilots I ran into seemed quite morose and could only talk about their 4 x 4's and the share they had in a boat. That one day in Dubai convinced me I never wanted to go back. Suffocating heat and definitely a second class citizen status as a White SAfrican or other expat. I have never applied for a job with EK or any other foreign airline.
As one ex-SAA pilot who is now with EK told me: "You'll be fine at EK if you don't sweat the small stuff". There do seem to be a few expats who can hack it over there, but most seem to be miserable, especially those who left SAA to go there. And the families of the pilots seem to take the most strain and this is possibly the source of most of the stress the pilots face.
As one who spent 11 years living outside SA before joining SAA, I don't regret returning to SA and I am very appreciative of being a pilot at SAA. There is little that SAAPA can do to ensure that SAA has decent management in place, and this new board is another example of politically and demographically correct appointments who have no clue as to what an airline is about. However, we do have experienced people in senior management who can make the right decisions and hopefully the board will rubber stamp them. Any interference from the board and we'll be back at government's door begging for another cash injection.
As for those who constantly bash SAA, take a chill pill. SAA is a great airline to be a pilot for and we have an awesome pilot group, great routes and aircraft, and our pay packages are among the best in the world. However, we are not Sky Gods and pilots who are not flying for SAA are no less competent or deserving and many are simply not flying for SAA due to circumstance or personal choice. We respect you, so please respect us!! SAA's selection standards and criteria were "modified" and lowered significantly in past years and those who were more deserving and more qualified were not able to join SAA, and many of them are now flying for EK, CX or the other airlines in SA. We are all South Africans and we are all pilots, so let's keep it cordial.