sounds familiar
Play the game of substituting CX for EK, Hong Kong for Dubai and knock ten years off the date. Consider the parallels:
A major airline undergoing fleet expansion with robust hiring and rapid upgrades, at least for those already there although not necessarily for the new joiners. A bunch of expat pilots all requiring the social support and infrastructures of accommodation, schools, clubs etc that come at increasingly steep prices partially funded by the goodwill of the company from company coffers. A signed contract which sets in concrete the conditions of service which are nevertheless sadly subject to amendment, at first with apology, then as a regrettable necessity and finally as standard practice. No union representation of pilot interests effectively allowing management shepherds to round the sheep up as they see fit, best hope that the good shepherd doesn’t pay too much interest in you because we all know what the welly boots are there for don’t we?
Different airlines, different places, different times. It could of course be smooth sailing from this point on but history does tend to repeat itself. Buyer beware?