Best Choice for EK Fleet

[EnolaGay]

Just looking for some honest answers regarding the best fleet to choose if hired at EK (interview in July)!!! Of the Airbus and Boeing which fleet offers:

1. Best Sked?
2. Shortest time to upgrade?
3. Best destinations?
4. Most days off?

Anyh other thoughts would be welcome.

Cheers.

[Bypass ratio]

Your best COICE would be the Boeing. We have the best layovers, make the most money and have more days off! Most Airbus guys on my intake are wishing they had joined on the Boeing fleet.:)

[Dr Know]

Its all :mad: bolox!

You do not chose your fleet, you get told! Thats the botom line. The rest all changes in time. It all depends on your roster. You get paid by the hour on top of your normal pay. The Bus is slower....you therefore fly longer and yes... you then get more money... Make sence? :bored:

[kingoftheslipstream]

GranolaGrey...
Ya' all might think 'bout a different handle... :yuk:

[what_goes_up]

You do not chose your fleet, you get told!

Hmmmm... I was asked and got what I wanted!?!

[Ketek400]

I think at the moment the 777 is truly the best fleet to be on. They do do long flight and lots of hrs. So they get paid more overtime and hourly pay. Airbus is more relaxed and more days at home(Dubai).

Between 330 and 340 you have a good variety.

Upgrade is supposed to be the same time on both. Pretty fast on the 777, but with the arrival of the 380 next year, the movement should be very good on the Bus.

Get the job and then worry about it.

[TangoUniform]

Not sure how this relates to what is the best fleet at the moment, but checking open time for the rest of the month for both left and right seats-Boeing has a total of 8 trips in open time and the 'bus has 34. Could this help explain why there are pilots bumping up on max hours on the Airbus, but haven't heard too much of it on the Boeing? With that much open time available on the 'bus, max hours, calls on days off, etc. may be a way of life. Or do the Boeing guys love flying so much they volunteer en masse to fly on days off and it results in little or no open time?

[Schnowzer]

You should check out some of the 777 rosters. Quite a few have 10/12 days off in a row. That is unheard of on the Bus. The snag is that they also do 8 day trips which would be truly horrific for me.

[typhoonpilot]

GranolaGrey...
Ya' all might think 'bout a different handle...


Just curious what you think is wrong with the name of an airplane that helped end WWII with minimal lose of allied life? Had the U.S. and it's allies been forced to invade Japan the estimated casualty toll was around 1 million.


Typhoonpilot

[typhoonpilot]

Maybe he's worried about the Enola Gay thing - you know, they're a little sensitive about that sort of thing around here.



But I thought "Gay" meant happy :confused: :O ;)


TP

[mensaboy]

If indeed you do get a choice or at least wish to make your choice known, they I would highly recommend Boeing. Schedules changes, routes change and well, everything seems to change and in my opinion there is no way to accurately predict it.

But one thing hasn't changed for sure and that is that 777's are easier to fly, easier to deal with SOP's and in general are better aircraft, but that is just my opinion. In addition, there is far less 'talking' required on the flightdeck to get safely from A to B, in a Boeing than on an Airbus. I won't even get into the relative simplicity of Boeing procedures as compared to Airbus.

Just take a look at Airbus FCOM's, OEB amendments and FCI's and that will give you a good indication of how needlessly confusing some things can be on an Airbus.

[EGGW]

Easier to fly, the Airbus is a piece of p*ss, you point it where you want and it stays there, none of that pesky trimming required. The EK Airbus SOP's are over bearing on a Bus, but have a peek at the 777 NPA's which are a friggin nightmare. The flurry of hands required for a successful outcome is bizarre, plus the variance in procedures if you can't validate the database and have to do raw data. The chances of a balls up are high on the 777. The Bus NPA's are simple, push approach and set missed approach, monitor and your done. Raw data is simple on a Bus.
Yes Bus non normals CAN be complicated, but rarely are in the real world, outside the simulator. The 777 is a well put together plane, good routes at EK, except the long OZ trips, which suits some i guess. The Bus has more turnarounds, but again that suits some folks.

Best fleet at the moment is the 777, the Bus will be up there again when the 380 arrives, lotsa promotions then. :ok:

EGGW

But one thing hasn't changed for sure and that is that 777's are easier to fly, easier to deal with SOP's and in general are better aircraft, but that is just my opinion. In addition, there is far less 'talking' required on the flightdeck to get safely from A to B, in a Boeing than on an Airbus. I won't even get into the relative simplicity of Boeing procedures as compared to Airbus.

[CI100]

The question is; only Airbus guys will be transferring to the A380? Or doors will be open for the Boeing guys too? In that case, It would make sense to ask for Airbus fleet so you can have a chance at A380 few years down the road. (That is if you want to fly the big bird)

I don't think you can ask for your fleet on the interview. My friend that was current on the Airbus with over 3000 hours was put on 777. Last week one of the ground crew in DXB was telling us that EK parked one (or two??) 777 in June due to shortage of flight crew. So it seams that most of the candidates (successful that is) will be getting the Boeing.

“Is not what you fly that counts,…. is how you fly it that counts”:E
John King
King School

[Trader]

Any comments on the time to upgrade between fleets?

[LHR Rain]

Make the good choice and stay where you are. You will be happy in the long run just ask everyone that has left. Cheers.

[fatbus]

if you were to join now both fleets will be about the same. we have 1750 + pilots now and at 4-500 per year you can do the math, but i have know idea how and where they are going to get that number of pilots. there will be direct hire f/o's on the 380 that might help a bit. do remeber that not all of the new airplanes additional some are for replacement

[fractional]

Speculative it may be, but this piece of news is interesting and indicative of what actually happened after Airbus could not deliver the A380s on time and the ensuing EK compensation claims. Now is Dubai, others will follow. Airbus will end up being everyone's manufacturer...:hmm:
by Ben Flanagan of Arabian Business on Thursday, 05 July 2007
Dubai - home to Emirates airline, the biggest customer in the troubled A380 'superjumbo' programme - has bought a 3.12% stake in Airbus parent EADS.
The investment was made by the Global Strategic Equities Fund (GSEF), making it 'one of the largest institutional shareholders in the company', according to a statement.
GSEF, which is managed by state-owned Dubai International Capital (DIC), did not give details of how much it paid, saying only that it was investing with partners.
Part of the fund's mandate is to invest in "a concentrated portfolio of undervalued companies", making EADS - which has been rocked by management changes and the delayed Airbus A380 programme - a likely target.
EADS group profits slumped 94% last year on the back of a weak dollar and industrial problems at Airbus, which said in February it would cut 10,000 jobs and sell up to six factories.
"The company's challenges are well-publicised. However, we are confident that EADS's superior product offering, comprehensive restructuring programme and committed management represent a strong fit with the fund's investment strategy," DIC said in a statement.
"Whilst we believe that the value of EADS’ other commercial assets are under-estimated, we are supportive of EADS’ management’s announced steps to regain investor confidence by delivering the envisaged recovery plan at its Airbus subsidiary."
"Neither the fund nor DIC will seek a board seat or take an active role with EADS but will seek to build a strategic relationship with the EADS management and shareholders."
In May, GSEF announced that it had purchased a 'substantial' stake in HSBC, in what DIC boss Sameer Al Ansari called "the first of many planned investments that will eventually see GSEF investing about $10 billion in global companies."
EADS - which is, like HSBC, a Fortune 500 Company - includes Airbus, helicopter supplier Eurocopter, and space programmes firm EADS Astrium. It also claims to be 'the international leader in missile systems'. The group employs about 116,000 people at more than 70 production sites.

[Hook]

Wow, VERY interesting. Guess now we know which aircraft will replace EK's 330s........:hmm:

[Hassan Bok]

Hey Enola, try your best for the 3x7s. Later you may be in line for the 787's and 748s. The airbusses? Never mind...sit back with a knowing smile and a smirk when you hear people singing praises for the bus. I flew both; the 777 is a stallion at Epsom, the bus is like the mule you run into on the way to Giza!;)