I’ve been flying with FO’s back from the sandpit of late and it’s amazing how the grass is always greener on the other side, everyone of them has said they now appreciate what they’ve got with QF more than ever.
I would agree that EK and EY would very quickly reveal to any emphatic that it is a modern Orwellian state with 'guest workers' and even more loss of rights.
Job security, money, lifestyle, great equipment, amazing training department, almost 100 Year’s of operational excellence, amazing FO’s and Cabin Crew, whole departments to back me up - Flt planners, Met, ops and maint watch....
Am assuming that the pilots you talk to actually don't dispute that those elements are present in the UAE too.
What is missing is respect.
From my connections there, both inside and out aviation, one, no matter what their field is merely a 'guest worker'. Perhaps the Cobham pilots feel this way too and given the opportunities presenting are quietly removing themselves from the toxicity of QF adversarial Ir.