Originally Posted by
arketip
The right question is: "why the American guys went to EK to start with, if at home is so much better?"
Originally Posted by
Desert snake
You never heard the word furlough?
Very few, if any, came through career choice
Originally Posted by
Airbubba
Living in Dubai is probably an upgrade for some nationalities but it's a hardship tour for most Americans in my view.
For Americans expat flying is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
As I observed earlier in this thread:
Originally Posted by
Airbubba
Some Americans went overseas in years past because their airlines went bankrupt and they were too old to get a job in the States but too young to retire. Others did not have a 'collage' [sic
] education required by the major airlines. Still others had 'unfortunate dates of hire' during airline strikes and were on the infamous 'Jumpseat Protection List'.
Sounds like typhoonpilot was an Airways East (original USAir) pilot who may have passed on the opportunity back home to operate the gear lever for a West pilot hired while he was on furlough. I've sure been on the receiving end of similar seniority list integrations myself.
My PPRuNe date of hire was even adjusted
, you can hover the mouse pointer over my screen name to see the circa 1997 seniority number.
I would have repatriated sooner after my Middle East tour years ago but it took a while to find a job back home driving the lav truck. But at least I didn't leave aviation, right?
Here are the gushing first paragraphs from the 2006 WSJ article about EK and how this guy (not typhoonpilot) is treated like an executive vice-president in a garden spot like Dubai:
With Jobs Scarce, U.S. Pilots Sign On At Foreign Airlines
Global Travel Boom Yields Tempting Pay for Expats; Concerns About Safety
By Susan Carey in Chicago, Bruce Stanley in Hong Kong, and John Larkin in Mumbai
Updated May 5, 2006 12:01 a.m. ET
Nearly two years ago, at age 51, Brian Murray took early retirement from US Airways. The pilot was outraged by the airline’s termination of his pension plan and worried about his future with a carrier sliding towards bankruptcy court for the second time.
But Captain Murray’s career was far from over. Today he lives in Dubai and flies Airbus A330s for fast-growing Emirates airline, winging to destinations in Europe, Africa and Asia. He is home more than he ever was at US Airways, and his total compensation package – including health care, housing allowance, retirement plan and holiday – is superior. He says his wife and children enjoy living here in the UAE, and “from a professional standpoint, it couldn’t be better”.
In a twist on global outsourcing, a flock of US pilots is fleeing the depressed North American airline industry to work in the Gulf and other reaches of the world where aviation is booming.
After the 2001 terrorist attacks stifled air travel and sent the US industry into its deepest decline ever, more than 10,000 US pilots were laid off, and many more took early retirement. Despite subsequent hiring by a few healthy carriers, including Southwest Airlines, thousands have not been able to find new flying jobs at their old pay grades.
At the same time, the industry is expanding rapidly in the UAE, across the Middle East, China, India and Southeast Asia. As these regions have grown more affluent and loosened aviation restrictions, travel demand has soared. New airlines have started up, existing carriers are adding routes and hundreds of new jets are on order.