To be fair, it's all relative to what you were doing before and your reasons for coming here.
I previously worked for a major LoCo. I was quite happy there until the last year when I could see the direction the Company was heading in so I decided that was the right time to come and achieve my long-haul / widebody goals on the 777 in Emirates. And for the 'flying' reasons it's easily the best job in the world in that respect (on the 777 anyway) - a bigger range of destinations to see than any other carrier from 30 minute hops to Muscat, to 18 hour treks to LA.
Lifestyle is a mixed bag - plenty of days off for me (13-15 usually) and about 65-80 hours a month... BUT... there's a lot of night-flying, 3 am departures, minimum rest downroute etc which can all take a lot of getting used to. It can be quite tiring mentally, even if the physical demands on the aircraft are not as intense as those on a 6 sector LoCo.
Time to command is running at about 4 years at the moment, probably reducing slightly this year but for new joiners I'd expect 5-6 years at least.
Fleet management? Never met them, only hear from them in emails. Have to say though my biggest disappointment on joining EK was finding the closed-door attitude to the front-line staff - the spate of sackings that happened etc. However EK is still by far the closest thing you'll get to a Western carrier out here - it's light years ahead of EY and QR may as well be a Labour Camp for aviators... BUT this is the middle east and it is endemic here. After all the place has gone from 3rd World to a 'modern' civilisation if I can call it that in only a couple of decades. It's easy to forget this when you sip on a Starbucks by the Marina, so keep your head down and your record clean and know the rules... otherwise your little adventure could come to an end rather and spectacularly quickly...
Staff travel is good compared to most airlines, especially LoCo's. Some nice discounts on hotels too with the EK group so have had some nice breaks away in the Maldives, Seychelles and Mauritius.
The pay is okay. Slightly better than most but not on the same level as the Far Eastern Legacy's... but then again you'll have your command a hell of a lot quicker which will more than make up for it.
However, don't come to EK just for the money. Inflation IS a big problem, and I would go as far saying that it is actually MORE expensive to live here now than in many European countries. Sure, some things are a lot cheaper due to Labour costs but most of your Western lifestyle activities ARE more costly. Eating out, coffee shops, kids activities etc. If you're coming here as a family be prepared to live modestly and sensibly and certainly NEVER EVER borrow money out here to fund an unnecessary extravagance such as a fancy car you don't need. It may be tempting when you see the neighbour's Porsche but I can assure that was NOT acquired through EK's 'generous' salary...
A common bone of contention out here is the weather... This is the one thing I can't get my head around - people come here by choice then bitch about it being hot. At what point in the application / interview process did they get misled into thinking that a desert would be cool and lush...? If you don't like the heat don't come here, simple as.
It IS hot and it IS dry. You wouldn't go skiing if you didn't like the snow would you? Expect a range of temps from 21 in Jan to 50 in July.
Training here has a bad reputation from the past ( well on the 777 anyway ) but I have been lucky and generally only had good experiences. Bear in mind however that it's a 'teach yourself' operation and you need to spend all available time off during your initial training studying the Ops Manuals... you're expected to know them inside out by the time you do your line training.
Best of luck in your decision.
