Simple question for you gents that don't quite get what AC is trying to convey, in his, let's say, less than gentlemanly way.
How many of you will be able to say you will stay here until you reach 65 doing on average 700 (and remember, ULR hours are reduced) hours a year, not being able to return "home" with your off days being limited and being restricted to make decent changes to one's roster? At most legacies, one's work rules, rosters etc get very easy as the autumn of the career approaches. Here it doesn't matter if you fly your hours in 15 days, you are not going to be able to do much with ADs inserted here and there.
A four year upgrade to any wide body aircraft is incredible. To be a 777/330 captain at the age of, say, 32 is off the charts. Would never happen at the legacies, anywhere. But no matter what changes have been made in the last four years with regard to flt ops firings, there is always that overhanging threat of a mistake being made and you will packing up in 48 hours.
For me, this place works. I have made incredible friends from parts of the world I would never have had the opportunity anywhere else. The company is basically run by others that are expats, and from what I have gathered there is little or no anomosity towards expats. Not the case at other "good deal" airlines. And the commercial division seems to have no equal. That said, we work in a very high stress flight operations that does and will take its toll.
Finally, it is bad form to criticise those who find EK a great place to work. There are reasons for their adoration, so AC, let them have their good feelings. It really doesn't matter, at EVERY airline there are 20% who would donate their first born to the company and 20% who would be willing to burn it down to prove a point (ie, Eastern). But in defence of AC, he in his way is perhaps just trying to point out some warts and blemishes. No doubt in the near future if he has the time (age) he will depart for again Delta, or Alaska or UPS or FedEx and just eat the senority dog for a better life style.
Last edited by TangoUniform; 19th May 2012 at 17:37.