EY have narrow bodies (A320), there are many far east carriers with better packages. Air Arabia is better, even Qatar has narrow bodies and the package is better.
There are benefits at flydubai, mostly being the crew that we fly with. Great group! Hopefully, management will soon do something to prevent attrition and attract quality new pilots. The current trend is not a good indicator of that however. I hope things change.
Here's how I see what could be done to change the culture:
Split the flight crew from the rest of the employee group from an HR standpoint. There is no need to treat pilots like the entire employee group. If the pilot group needs a pay raise to be competitive with the marketplace, or to cope with operations that are more challenging than other airlines, it shouldn't have to wait for the whole employee group getting a pay raise. Likewise, quality of life should not be compared to office workers, as we are in a different operating arena with different responsibilities.
Related to pay, develop a yearly rate that is transparent to all so pilots and their families can make plans, and rates are not arbitrary. This would be the easiest way to abolish the current pay scale structure which really doesn't make sense. If cost of living goes up, there should be a raise tied to this at year end, and can be evaluated by HR comparing basic necessities such as milk, fuel, education and housing year on year.
Allow pilots more control over the roster. This can be done by line bidding, PBS, more RDO selections, less restriction on trading parameters, or a combination of these. Also, on the subject of rosters, stop violating the language of OMA section 7 with regard to rostering flights with rest periods of 18-30 hours.
Related to rosters and dove-tailing with safety/security, allow folks that fly into danger zones to be additionally compensated for this flying. Simultaneously, allow for specific bidding of these flights. I know there are plenty of pilots willing to fly these trips for the money, and it would empower the pilot group and remove animosity from the people not comfortable with these flights. We would all have to have some flexibility for standbys, but if the above were put in place, I'm sure that leeway would be much easier to come.
Develop a structured, transparent, scheduled and honest communication means from both Flight Operations and Safety. The structure for this is just about in place with CP meetings and the reports available on EFOS, so it would only be a matter of changing the culture a bit. Safety needs to become a pillar, and should err on the conservative side - we should lead the region, not be reactionary.
Develop the upgrade program to the required crew levels by having a pipeline of qualified candidates ready for training. Pool applicants if necessary, but have them ready to start training to avoid the need for DECs. The whole process should be streamlined through he use of an upgrade coordinator, which could come from the FO ranks (I'm sure someone would gladly volunteer to assist his fellow pilots, and of course himself in the process).
These are only a few ideas that have been formed into formal suggestions. Even if only a couple came about, it would be a good spin of the rudder away from the falls (meaning a step in the right direction). There are certainly more, but these are my best idea on how to start changing the culture and truly make flydubai the "Southwest of the Middle East".
I only post this in an effort to help and perhaps show some of the ideas guys from the line are tossing around in the flight deck.
Randy