Touch a Nerve did we
I think several posters above have gotten the wrong end of the stick in their haste to bash anyone who doesn't hate Dubai.
It appears many of you think that you should go out on strike when the brand of water is changed in the cockpit. I am not advocating the contracts not being adhered to, I am not advocating relentless changes in Ts&Cs, I am also not saying that it is okay to not give contractual entitlements.
What I am saying is that furbpilot had a job. What many would consider and excellent job. He choose to leave that job rather than move apartments.
I am saying where you live versus career = not a great trade.
Re contracts of course you should get what you are entitled to. He was entitled to an apartment, he had one! How does that make me wrong!
I am happy to get paid because I have been in airlines where they don't give you anything you signed up for. His current airline based in what he calls a rich cultural city is a good example. THY don't pay what is in the contract, they don't give you what you are entitled to and Dubai versus Istanbul is a hands down win for Dubai from my perspective every time. Taxi drivers in Dubai may get lost but they mostly speak some English. Aden and Sanaa have lots of culturally historic buildings I don't see us rushing there. Living in Istanbul was nice for the odd night out, most of the time it was a nightmare and waiting for the next accident to happen from an operational point whilst living in domestic conditions of squalor with no useful amenities (certainly for me) at the hands of tragic ineptness which makes the Dubai banks look like Lloyds of London and administrative practises that date back to the 1700s.
How many expat pilots have moved their families to IST and how many expat families live in DXB. Why does furbpilot think that 350,000 Western Expats live in Dubai if life here is so terrible. Personally I love living in Dubai, in fact I prefer it to living at home in UK which is why I am here!
Dubai and the airline are not one and the same thing. So much so that even were I to leave the airline I would commute from wherever else I worked to Dubai rather than relocate my family.
So Stone Cold, no limit, SOPs and Outatowner. The answer is simple yes if you give me enough money you can do whatever the hell you want with me as money IS all that matters. Money solves all the other issues, such as accommodation, pension, travel, family, etc if you get paid enough you can deal with all of these yourself. I for one don't care if they fly me 900hrs every year. It's their job to maximise the return on their investment (i.e. me). Its my job to do whatever they want me to as long as they give me what they say they are going to.
So 92hrs a month fine, 5yr bond, 10yr bond, hell bond for life also fine. Bond for upgrade fine, 900hrs a year fine, time in the bunk not paid, fine, hell you can even have my soul. As long as my family are safe, the money goes in the bank and if you kill me they get the life insurance. Anything else is a bonus.
Work is more important than me. My family is more important than me. In fact the least important thing is me full stop. I call that duty to my family and being a professional.
Whinging when my apartment isn't what I wanted and thinking that being at THY is better than being at EK well if thats the case then the statistics will likely back it up in the end. As of today I don't think they do.
I know that not everyone in Dubai is happy here. Last I checked you're welcome to take furbpilots route out to go to a "better" option in your own time. That however does give Cerbus the right to call me pathetic. Pathetic is someone who snipes by calling names, cannot construct an argument using pros and cons of what is being said and calls someone names just because they disagree with someones right to say whatever the hell they like. If you disagree fine but personal insults because someone doesn't share your politics I think define who the pathetic person on this forum is.