Guys and Gals out there
There is a lot written about the outfits in the pit, the big 3 and the smaller ones.
You should get a pretty accurate picture about the situation. Having new questions popping up almost weekly shows that either you were too lazy to search or you simply don't want to believe what's written.
Research and believe is what i would urgently prescribe, asking the same questions all over again will certainly not change the sad situation, not even for you.
Generally speaking: The salary with all the allowances will be enough for a single FO. You will be able to live a somewhat acceptable lifestyle and you will be able to put a little bit aside. It will however not be enough to fill your retirement piglet. If you come with a family, unfortunately the packages are simply insufficient in every aspect.
Life in the pit will be bearable to begin with but will wear you out within a year or two. The staffing and rostering are without exception planned to the thinnest minimum, meaning little leave (at EK not even the legal minimum) and in short bursts, rostering will be limited to very few days off in a row. There is a system behind this all over the sandpit: To keep you there to spend whatever little money is left at the end of the month and to limit the possibilities for interviews with other airlines. You will feel stuck and the longer it lasts, the less you can escape the trap.
We all know that you guys and gals work in hell, that anything else is better, especially when the jets seem bigger and shinier. Even the salary seems abundant, compared to what you make and have to let go in taxes. We all thought the same and, believe me, we all did our homework and are basically not very much dumber than you.
If you really want to leave for greener pastures, or if you have to leave, still consider the above. There are similarly good packages all around Asia. Maybe China, Vietnam or other countries do not have the same appeal as DXB or AUH, but this all wears out so fast you would not believe it. What remains is your escape, be that monthly or yearly.
Choose wisely. Choose the outfit that gives you the possibility to get out and home regularly, you will need it. What actually happens with the mentioned outfits in the pit is nothing less than a trap. As long as there is the possibility to go without any accountability in respect of breaking contracts and promises, i would be extremely reluctant to quit your job and come here.
They are able to get away by not giving you the contractual amount of leave, they can give the remaining in tiny portions of 4 days and still get 80h/m out of you. They can limit bidding and rostering to a maximum of 5 consecutive days off (not cumulative over 2 periods) and if you are lucky you might get one of those stretches every third month.
That means you can go with almost a year without possibility to get to your home country.
Salary, shiny jets and even a (presumably) shorter path to command can never compensate for the above. You might think that you can live with it for a few years, but you will have a hard time getting a partner, not to speak retaining one. But more importantly you will learn that with 45deg outside and almost everyone outside the pilot job having left for leave for 2 months in summer, your sanity is on a tough test.
Last edited by glofish; 16th Sep 2015 at 10:56.