Kap,
I agree with your statement for the most part, the exception being that you stated EK was close to being a good job.
I have been here for ten years and have seen things taken away from us on a regular basis.
The big one for me is the lost income from flying 90 plus hours per month, prior to 2009 we were paid for any flying over aprox 80 hours per month.
In the time that has elapsed since that rule was implemented I have (and many others) have not been paid for aprox 600 hours of overtime flying.
That 600 hours is the guts of an extra years worth of work which has not been paid for.
A good percentage of our pilot group has joined EK after that rule was implemented and so can not see the contrast.
Another reality is that a large percentage of our pilot group come from airlines which offered poor working conditions and so EK is in their perception an improvement.
My comments are part of a discussion and are not meant to nullify your post.