EK - Time to command, for hopeful new joiners and us already in the crapper
The point to the matter is this: the company is expanding, slower at the moment due the spring slow down due runway (where else in the world does a 24 hr airport close down half of its capacity for 3 months). Additional destinations = more airplanes = more pilots. EK is not pulling out of places. Retirements of 330s were a lot slower and some will remain for a few more years. Retirements of the RR 777s did not happen as planned last year. EMH is still here with 64,000 hrs on her and she was suppose to exit stage left last summer.
Instead, EK wants to continue to expand and double it's size by 2020. That's a lot of growth. If your an FO here now with all the requirements and no letter yet, that's due to the current and short slow down. If you go down the list, there are a lot of FOs that do not have 6000 hrs Total Time. That is still a requirement. If you came here with 2700 hrs total time, you not only need the 2500 hrs in type and 36 months, but a total of 6000 total time. For half of those FOs on the list, they need to do 3500 hrs here and at an average of 700/yr, that's that's 5 years. If you were pushed to the A380, then you need the 2500 EK type, but only 700 in the A380. So add a year to that. If you came to EK with minimum time and got pushed to the A380, it will not slow you down unless you had the 2500 hrs in the 330/340. But NO MATTER what, you still have to have 6000 hrs Total Time.
The fact of the matter is that everyone going to the left seat must have the experience required. If you came here with very little, then you need to do a lot here. Just watch as the most junior Capt spot starts to run WAY up the list. The most Junior Capt now is near 2050 seniority number. That's going to go up the rank fast since most of the hiring during 2010-2013 was Ryan Air FOs and Regional CRJ FOs. If you're not in that category, sorry, wrong timing, but it should be coming fast soon.
As stated by someone earlier in this thread, out of seniority upgrades will continue to find those with min requirements.
One thing is for certain here, if you don't like how things are going right now, give it 6 months, it always changes.
Last edited by Machspeed; 17th Feb 2014 at 08:28.