Which airline is more secure

[bulkhold]

How would you rate following airline in term of job security (1-10) with 1 being the lowest:
1. Emirates
2. Al Etihad
3. Air Arabia
4. Gulfair

[airmemphis]

Well considering they're ALL government owned, they'll be around for a very very long time, so I'll give them all a 10.

As for Air Arabia (G9) finances are in excellent shape. They're already reported a profit which is impressive considering the short time they've been around and the fact they are operating in a traditionally 'closed' market where bi-lateral agreements are quite restrictive (with the exception of DXB and BEY).

[fractional]

From the pilots' point of view, QR, EY, EK and G9 will have lots of vacancies in many years to come. There won't be enough Nationals to fill in the man-power requirements. WY, GF, SV, KU may be able to operate with a mainly local workforce.
However, it's a different story if we refer to the pay package; after all the most important thing.
The present trend is to continue. The well pay jobs world-wide are decreasing and the so called 3rd world airlines are not increasing their packages considerably to entice their Nationals to remain in their respective countries. They still think what is paid is good enough versus domestic cost of living. And this is really true.
In one way, this is good for the industry because more and more investors will be willing to embrace it, but in the other hand salaries will remain poor (for non-Nationals). The recent example of the Malaysians and others means exactly that.
Ultimately, a high turnover may lead to further costs and the stands of safety will suffer a severe dent. The majority Managers and Bean-Counters don't think so. I've been there and my concerns were read as pure rethoric. Well, there were and have been changes but they still trailing.
More opinions please on the subject of which airline is more secured.
Safe flying.

[Eurydice]

Fractional,

It would be interesing to see what the gross salary is in these so called "3rd world" countries. For example, what does an Indian domestic B737 Captain flying for one of the major operators gross in a year. How about similar jobs for local pilots in Pakistan, Thailand, Phillipines and Malaysia?

Any Ppruners from these countries care to offer some figures ? Might be very enlightening. :ok:

Re the airline order from a job security perspective:

10 Emirates
08 Etihad
07 Air Arabia
02 Gulfair

Gulfair will really struggle when (and it is when not if) Abu Dhabi pulls out. Abu Dhabi's exit from GF wil be sooner rather than later. The situation with Oman is more complex, but as WY expands, GF increasingly ceases to play a relevant role. Once both countries have pulled out, GF would need massive recapitalisation from Bahrain (unlikely) or institutional reinvestment (a possibility) for it to survive as a long haul carrier.

Who knows, perhaps EY and WY will take the long haul components of GF and leave Bahrain with a very small regional operation. There is also Gulf Traveller - what happens to that?

The question of James Hogan and whether he stays will add further interest to the GF situation.

Etihad has (for the moment) unlimited financial backing and will progressively erode GF operations from Abu Dhabi.

Emirates has the ability to generate huge cash flows with a low cost structure. Stable, profitable route network. All largely unsubsidised compared with EY.

Another carrier which should be on the list is QR. Difficult to work for, but in terms of ongoing financial backing, it's solid.

[EY777]

Can't say about the rest, all I can say is that the Malaysians are going to flood the market.

At the rate of mismanagement & 'head buried in sand' attitude by MH's management, an exodus is bound to happen :}

Last I heard was that max scale for the Captains are roughly 6000USD gross (after deductibles maybe about 4800 USD):yuk: .Coupled with the recent runaway cost of living & a shot across the bow by LCC extraordinaire AA CEO Tony by giving a relatively generous pay rise to their pilots, they are bound to rethink their future with MH.Then, I can't blame the blokes from MH in seeking greener pastures 'cause as it is, there are definitely buried in deep doo doo. :sad: Anywhere they go will be a payrise! :p

[fractional]

You got the answer from EY777, and remember things are not better elsewhere, i.e. AI, UL, etc.. Some of their drivers are type-rated on acft flown (or to be flown) by EK, QR and EY.
If no "stops" are put in place unilaterally by the EK, EY, QR or GF which has been the case many times before, it's "natural" to see all these "drivers" wanting a share of the pie. This move was and is still sometimes considered discriminatory and criticised for by the affected individuals.
I also agree that it will be a matter of time before GF departs AUH and MCT eventually, though slower. The Omani Ruler is an old timer, on his own right now, but still a GF ally.
GF may shrink but it won't disappear into mediocrity. They have restructured and as I mentioned in another post elsewhere, they are now better prepared to play the game of sound (???) competition whenever it comes into REAL play now that the European and Australasian operators are crying foul becasue of the state run/backed Middle Eastern counterparts.
GT may continue since there is a market for it. IX and G9 are already players and Jazeera will come in soon. It'll be a matter of time before EK gets one too and the Saudis create one of their own because of the huge foreign population in the country.
One has to remember that except (in a way) for KU and SV, everyone else has a big chunk of the so-called thru-traffic. As an example, how many daily flights do QR have out of AUH, BAH and DXB? Is all this traffic bound for DOH to stay?
The job security is a very subjective matter. It depends where one comes from.
It would be interesting to have the opinion of the National pilots of the different operators and whether the pay is ok. Besides the recent EK heralded 25% pay rise which is a clear discriminatory move (in those terms), they have a different pay deal and they know very well the difference and the dynamics of pay package (if I may call it package) and the cost of living. One of the big difference here may be the education expenses since the Nationals are supposed to have free education.
Regardless, it should be interesting to have them in the debate.
Thanks and safe flying.