Emirates average days off

[sealy101]

what are your average days off per month at Emirates.
I was just given an interview date for february 26th.

[fatbus]

not enough

[GMDS]

This is actually not a big issue at EK, imho it's quite good here.
It depends somewhat on the equippment you're pushing and on your bidding style. A guy only 330 qualified tends to do more shorter flights, to build up hours he therefore works more shorter days giving him sometimes the minimum 8 days off. But I have to admit with the staffing getting better, this does not happen too often. The guys on the T7, and to a certain extent the 340 x-q-ones, can fly 2 ultralong trips plus one or two shorter ones, and they're done for the month, giving them up to 18 days off. Bidding helps to either avoid or desire ultralongs.

[GMDS]

Warlock
As I complain feverishely about the crap salary adaption to the crap dollar/dirham, I nevertheless try to give a balanced view of what's on here. And days off are as good if not better than what I had with my previous employers. True this might be momentary, but I take it.

[mini cooper]

OBOGS - glad to hear you got 45 days leave in 2007, but before you start jumping for joy think for a moment of the other guys like me who are still owed 23 days leave this year, to be used by end of march which is not going to happen!! There are two sides to every story........................................

[sealy101]

thanks for the information.
i have an interview in febuary and wanted to know if i would get the same amount of days off as i do at my current airline( about 14 days off)
do the days off you speak about include days off between trips..ie back to back trips

[L1011]

Sealy,
A lot depends on what you are planning on doing on your days off. For those happy to hang around Dubai, then it is actually quite good once you get the bidding figured out.

If you want them in a block so you can commute - you are not going to find it easy.

EK have a peculiar "rotating seniority" system (that the newbies love) which means that in your "top" two bid months you can hold about 6-10 days off in a row.

BUT you then get shafted in your bottom bids and are compelled to do a five weeks on Reserve every year. The Reserve can work out OK, but you cannot plan anything at all.

BTW - think long and hard before coming here. It is no longer as good it has been/could be.

Good luck with the interview - and Merry Xmas to all those on here.

[sealy101]

L1011 what is your day off average

[LHR Rain]

Average about 15 days working a month. Those 15 days working can be in the middle of the night (2am -3am) and through muliple time zones.
Most of the pilots here come from low tier airlines and they are happy with working "only" 15 days a month but as any wise airline pilot knows the kind of flying we are doing we should only be working 8-11 days a month. That is a far cry from what we are actually doing.

[sealy101]

i agree and i think i can work the back side of the clock for a little while but not for my entire career.

[sealy101]

another question I have dual nationality uk and usa. and was wondering if their would be any difference in joining

[Lugano]

So am I to understand that you have some leave/vacation days that are due to you, you must use them by the end of March, but the company won't give them to you?

Is this possible?

[EGGW]

14 days off or thereabouts is what i have been getting. If you are in training (why i can't figure out), you will get MAX of 5 days in a row. Unless you step down for that month, without pay of course.....

EGGW

[L1011]

Sealy,
It varies a lot mate. Last two months was cr@p - block of reserve and then a bunch of night turnarounds. On my top two bid months can usually hold 8-10 days in a row, if simulator etc does not interfere.
Only commutable if you are going to Europe. Getting on an airplane on an ID 90 is another matter.

[canadansk]

On reserve on the A330/340. No ULR flights and 99.2 hours in 31 days! Welcome to the airbus fleet, it is very different than the 777.

[sealy101]

just to be precise when you say days off you do mean days at home. you are not adding days on a trip in the uk for example

[Oblaaspop]

For once I find myself in agreement with LHR Rain:eek:

In total this month (Top Bid), I will benefit from 17 days free from work including a couple of rest days (and yes Sealy they are days at home - we are never down-route long enough to have days off there!)...

Sounds great huh?

You'd think so wouldn't you...?

However I am absolutely 'kin knackered. for the past 11 weeks, I have done nothing but lay-overs both East and West, European and ULR and my sleep patterns are completely screwed, so yes I tend to get a fair bit of time off, but alas I seem to spend most of it recovering!

And yes, I was only awarded 32 days leave (out of 45) this year. However last month (and purely by chance), I happened to spot a block of available leave suddenly appear on the leave bidding portal thing, so grabbed the opportunity to pounce on it before anyone else did! Yes its unfair, right place right time though:E

Merry Christmas boys and girls

Take care

[fatbus]

I checked a few friends rosters because I wanted to see for myself if the other fleet was worth bidding.

15 pilots both 777/AB DEC/NOV bids

Dec total days off 147, Nov 97

more Vacation awarded in DEC than NOV

most days off ( not including rest days ) 14 and that was an AB guy

some guys only getting 2-4 days off in vacation months and they were 777


No idea which bid groups, know for a fact that some know the bid system very well

[Gillegan]

A few things to think about:

By all accounts it is going to be a difficult year for recruiting. Quoted numbers are on the order of 550 to 600 pilots.

I have heard but not substantiated (this is a rumour network after all) that the above numbers include the use of flight time factoring for calculating required crew. (You remember when we were told that the company "didn't want to do it but the GCAA was making them.":rolleyes:)

The Virgin Australia/Korean/SIA factor. Depending on who you talk to and how it really pans out, resignations may pick up after the 2nd half of the year for folks departing to the above airlines. Resignations have been rather slow this year.

We will see what really happens but I certainly see the potential for it getting ugly in late 2008. For you starry eyed newcomers, ask some of the guys who were on the Airbus back when factoring was in full force what it was like.

[Raise or Fold]

Rest days, how does that work? Are there so many days off you need between trips? OR after trips?

How many days off do you get between trips on average?

If someone wants to post there schedule here that would be great as well.

Thanks,
R or F

[BigGeordie]

"Rest days" are not legal days off. A legal day off has to include two local nights so if you have a duty that finishes after midnight the remainder of that day becomes a rest day (you will be too knackered to do anything anyway). Similarly, if you have a duty that starts between midnight and 6am (lots of those by the way) then the previous day is a rest day.

Hope that makes sense. Almost all layovers are around 24 hours so there is very little opportunity for days off down route anyway, but the company doesn't count those days towards you legal minimum of 8 days off a month (yet!).

There is no minimum requirement for days off between trips at home unless they are ultra long haul or covered by an annexe to the FOM.

[Raise or Fold]

So say that you show at 2am on Monday. Is Sunday counted towards your days off for the month?
I know you have to be off that day, but does it count as one of your days off in a month?
If you had 12 days off in the month, would that be included, or would it actually be 13 days off in that month? (even though it is a rest day)

Just trying to see how much time off you really going to have.

[BigGeordie]

No, legally Sunday could not be a day off as it does not have a local night at each end of it. Therefore it would be a "rest day" but would not count towards your minimum days off that month. In the scenario you describe you would have 12 days off that month.

[uplock]

Raise or Fold take a look at the UK CAP 371 Document which EK FTLs are based on Select Section B then select Days Off
Link Here (http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP371.PDF)