Very good information but not completely true in my opinion:
Pilots don’t go “I want to live in Dubai, who can I work for there? Hey Emirates looks good, I am going to apply to them so I can live in Dubai.” Emirates and the Middle East only becomes an option when promotion stalls in their own airline, their airline goes bust or looks like going bust, or their own country becomes too dangerous/corrupt to stay. They then look for jobs and go “What has the best on offer? Hmmmm, those Middle Eastern airlines seem to have what I want, ok, I know there will be sacrifices..... but I’ll just make them for the job.” The Emirates recruiting machine has been/is very good at painting a picture that is attractive, and so people who have had other options close jump into the smoke and mirrors that begins with the recruiting process.
I know a lot of guys and girls who actually want to go to EK (even though they know about the current situation, but companies like Turkish, Lionair, Ryanair and so on have worse conditions and are deteriorating more than we are aware off). For example Lionair has roster over 130h plus a month (yes illegal) and Ryanair actually forces people on Ryanair contracts which for example means 10% pay cut for starters and as you then start paying social a total of plus minus 35% pay cut.
So here is the point : people who move to Dubai make huge sacrifices to work for Emirates. This has been arrogantly forgotten. Make no mistake about that. Somewhere along the way, management have either started deluding themselves, or become so arrogant as to believe, that people come to Dubai for Dubai, and not Dubai for Emirates. And it just isn’t true.
Huge sacrificies indeed. But honestly didn't you do homework before starting the job. Fair enough for the people here who started decades ago, things got worse and won't get any better. But for people like myself who started right after 9/11, the flight school simply said: Forget about the white picket fence story, forget about spending time with your family during all important events. It won't happen. If you do want all of that, there is the door and don't become a pilot.
If you and if unlucky your wife/children have a small doubt about your choice of moving to Dubai please by all means do not even consider it. You will not be happy. If you are excited to come, even with or without the " lies " on the Internet and Management please do come. You will make it nicer for the rest of us regarding the hours
.
Another thing to consider as an FO for 7 years is the Staff Travel. Lets say you arrive in Dubai with Children aged 4 and 5. That will be 7 years minimum of being forced to travel in Economy because your children can’t be upgraded into Business Class. I still feel for FOs who have children approaching their teens and have to travel in Economy.......while watching a Captain with a child aged 2 being allowed into Business. Are you starting to get the mentality of the people who make policies in these here parts?
Wow... No offense but are you really complaining you get staff travel in Economy and not Business? I just picked up 2 friends of mine from the airport and I saw a woman from the UK shouting at her husband (EK pilot clearly) because she did not get First Class and had to deal with Business instead.... No wonder people are so grim when the wife are acting like a freaking kardashian.
Keep in mind that a lot of people who come to EK are coming for one of the following:
Company is bad (EK is bad fair enough)
Company is cutting your pay (Seems to increase here in EK, Understand not by inflation but still. The whole world is inflating
)
Company is moving you away from your home several times a year just for fun (Doing 100h per month could be considered the same, but I guess you don't move all your furniture to Lagos every time)
Company is going bust (EK seems to be going steady)
And the worst of all, Pilots are actually making less then burger flippers in my home country, I operated for a different carrier, but still was not able to pay my loan and thus got severe problems with banks. Emirates pays me more than enough to survive and pay of my loan. THERE IS NO OTHER OPTION for me to pay of my loan in an European carrier.