EK recruiting in Oz
 

I guess some would have seen the add in the Australian about EK holding an open day for recruiting pilots a little while back.

Well since this is a rumour network, how about this. As well as the open day, assessment sim rides will also be held for those that have already got an application in. Time frame is early Apr. This is something that EK has not done before. Also, rumour has it that female applicants will also be assessed.

Could this be because EK have seen what salaries are like in Oz, and how much pilots are paying for type ratings now, and think that the fellas can not afford the trip to the desert ?

Don

donpizmeov

It could be because they are desperate for pilots. Having numerous aircraft parked up against the fence does wonders to inspire management to employ more pilots.

If the hosties are leaving in as many numbers as I was told the other day, it's hardly surprising they need more drivers as well....

Unfortunately, No OZ /NZ bases just DXB:(

Open Daze
 

Has anyone got the email address from last Friday's ad in the Strine? I may as well see what they've got to say....

Dood,

it's [email protected]


(Still waiting for a reply)

good luck:ok:

Details of the open days also being posted on their website.

Oz2

Dear oh dear oh dear, people just never learn do they.

Qantas managers are spruiking about competition between airlines for passengers. It also extends to pilots, engineers and crew. Qantas just hasn't had much experience in that field yet, but it's coming. Sounds like EK is starting to feel it.

Guys

........if you anyone down here is seroius about moving to EK or any other operator in the Mid East....... can I just say.... if you currently have a job, like where you live, are reasonably happy with who you are working for and feel that life is ok at the moment, then dont move. the grass is always greener but remember its still grass....it may have a little more flavour or it may look nice from your paddock .....but trust me its still grass. life up here is not like life in Aussie or NZ.

people up here are very different and the way you are treated is not like you are treated backhome. if you need a job then take what ever you can get.....but my advice is commute on a contract job from your home ...its still better than the unreasonable, unlogical and frustrating Management of the middle east.

Yes.... I have moved to the sand and yes I am now stuck here....I have a big car loan..... I have gold cards coming out of my ears and the banks are still trying force more of their credit cards onto me. I have a bank loan that I have used to invest into real estate......biut its all got to be paid back and the cost is not cheap. I am now traped at least until my fourth year is up.

......they made a great job of selling life style ...roster stability.....big money....and great layovers on the worlds most modern fleet. look very hard at what your options are and think very carefully about leaving a great life style in country where you do have rights as an employee, you can go anywhere you like without having to put up with the outdated fourth world mentality of we are local you are S#%t.

I have made the most of being up here but its expensive......nothing is free.....the red tape you go through to get things done here on a daily basis is completely unbeliveable......and its shrugged off as "oh thats the way it is here ".

.....if I had done my research on daily life and the cost of living and how much I was really getting paid in the sand........I would not have applied at all. For me it hasnt been worth it. I am now like many others here actively working toward getting out.

TR

TR

Well said

Esp for those of you who are based in BNE .. think long and hard before swapping that for the desert of DXB .. yes it all looks very nice as TR has said, but it is not a scrap on Brisvegas and SE QLD.

Sooooo - you want to work for Emirates ???

If you want to fly shiny new jets, then Dubai is just the place for you. Or is it ??

PLEASE - consider carefully the following:

- Rostered 90 plus hours long haul (mostly east west) per month.
- Minimum days off, particularly on the A330.
- Long term fatigue issues.
- The AUD/NZ equivalent salary has decreased effectively by around 30 % since the USD fell into the abyss.
- Uncertain promotion prospects with unannounced changes possible to policies.
- Contracts that will be altered at any time without any discussion with you.
- No union representation.
- Ineffective, sycophantic management that has little regard for your welfare. The one and only good manager we have is leaving soon.
- Housing is luck of the draw - you get what's allotted by the housing mafia.
- Cost of living in Dubai is NO LONGER the value for money paradise it used to be. Plan on AT LEAST what you spend in AUS/NZ.
- Inflation is becoming a significant component of daily life here. Salaries are way behind in buying power compared to 2 years ago.
- There is NO POSSIBILITY of commuting with the rosters as they are and indeed into the future as relative pilot numbers fall against increasing numbers of destinations.
- You will be working with people who 2 years ago would never have got a look in. Standards are a real issue that you should consider.
- Ask yourself why so many people are LEAVING rather than joining. Resignation rates are at levels NEVER seen before with this company.
- The traffic situation and driving in Dubai is horrific.
- What value do you place on lifestyle ? As one who has moved from your region, can I say that the grass is VERY DEFINITELY greener where you are.

If you are working for VB, QF, JQ, JetConnect, Pacific Blue (or indeed any other established operator) please think very seriously before you resign and make a move that may well be regretted very soon after arriving. This is all the more relevant when you are facing a USD 36,000 bond from the moment you do your final check to the line.

Ask specific questions to the Emirates people at the open day and insist on answers, rather than vague responses. They must not be allowed to give you false impressions and false hopes of what life and work in Dubai is all about.

In conclusion, this is the stark reality about Emirates - so think very carefully about your career aspirations and your family and how they will handle such a move.

Surely this is not the same Emirates at which Flight Ops management continue to this day to "tell" the existing guys how lucky they are to have a job at Emirates because we are getting DOZENS of applications every day from the most fantastic applicants....mmmmmm....so now, HR have to start running ALL around the World holding Forums and Seminars trying to get pilots to apply to Emirates.
Why is this so Professor???????? Just maybe there is a message hidden somewhere in the CODE. :confused: :p

Guys I understand the ME culture....Been there before.

Most interesting with the advertisement was the timing!
QF are aware of it, probably have the keystone security taking down number plates and snapping photos of QF attendees..

It puts a little subtle pressure on to say the least...QF facing some new poachers that Dixon is worried will swamp the airline and staff he cares so much about:suspect:

Interesting 1st posts from Des dimona and tail rota. Sound to me like a couple of f/os maybe bypassed by the DEC chaps. Only a hunch. I have lived in the Middle East now for near on six years and can tell you this tax free gig, paid accomodation, paid school fees and flying nice shiny new aircraft is top stuff. I am nearly set up for life thanks to this little tour of duty.

Get with the program fellas, you have never had it so good !:ok:

QFinsider you gotta be management mate with those conspiricy theories. Number plate recording at EK interviews............methinks QF may be getting a little spooked........BOO !!!!

I think EVERY Qantas pilot who's got a day off when EK holds the open day should attend. There's no commitment, no obligation. And professional people should be continually out there anyway, networking and assessing where they sit in the big picture.

I wonder if it'd be useful for the word to get back to GOD that a couple of hundred QF pilots attended? I wonder whether he would would think: "great, a way to rid myself of a bunch of overpaid, unworking whingers", or could he think "uh oh....." ?

It could be a useful ploy, overall, and will certainly be educational. They might even have free beer!

I like to see what happens when a certain major Asian carrier starts interviewing later this years for direct entry F/O’s based in Sydney and Melbourne on their pax fleet. Preference will be given to those that already have A330/340 experience but I'm sure all will be considered. I suspect we will hear from a lot of pissed off QF drivers. I think we will also hear from a lot of J* drivers looking for a better gig that will pay them better than what they are currently being offered.

BAE146,

"....Get with the program fellas, you have never had it so good"
And just whose managers backside are you climbing up???
Maybe with your infinite wisdom (sic) you could tell us exactly which points raised by rota and des are so incorrect.
Seems to me they have hit the nail on the head. :ok:

Ron and Edna

Good idea for all QF pilots to attend and see just how well off they are compared to the Emirates guys. I am sure that very few applications will follow once the salaries and contracts are closely examined. So I don't think Dixon has all that much to worry about in terms of EK poaching anyone.

We all have our own threshold of pain.

Whether it be low salary, good lifestyle or visa versa. Living in the sand pit with family and putting up with all that it brings or living in the rice pit as I am away from the family for reasonably long periods.

Do what you have to to get ahead. Use the mongrels to get that shinny Boeing/god forbid Airbus (just kidding) endorsement and move on to a better deal when it presents itself.

Current airline management attitude deserves nothing better from us.

The companies and their pathetic attitudes are turning previously keen committed pilots into jaded, who gives a..........types.

They have lost the plot and it will cost them in all sorts of ways as time goes on.

Do what is right for you.

By the way, the sandpit isn't too bad for a little while.

I have quite a few mates at EK. It is interesting to chat with them about how things are going there. Until recently trying to find time to chat with the Airbus drivers was hard to do as they were always at work. Now it seems the Boeing drivers are also on the busy rosters.
I have found those that just treat EK as any other job,and leave the office politics alone are happy campers. These are normally the ones that live in areas that are not surrounded by other EK pilots. The fellas that are living in the EK ghettos, surrounded by other EK pilots, do not seem to be able to get away from the company. These seem to be the ones that are aging before there time, as they can not step a foot out of their house without being depressed by another story or rumour of woe from the company. Unfortunately, where you get to live is determined by the EK housing department, and once put somewhere you are stuck, unless rents go up, and the company makes you pay for a move somewhere cheaper. Last time I was in DXB, I was shown the new Villas which are to house 600 to 800 EK pilots, and which will be finished shortly. These stand in the middle of the desert, far away from the schools and shops and restaurants etc. If the effect of living surrounded by 83 other pilots close to town can be depressing, I can only try and imagine the effect of being surrounded by 799 in the middle of nowhere.
All those I know within the company reckon it has gone dramatically down hill in the past few years. But this is also the case with those I know at SQ, CX, KA, QF etc etc.
It is interesting that EK is now conducting SIM assessments outside of DXB. I wonder if word has got out that the days of quick commands in the desert are gone, and the applicants for FO have dried up. I was recently told that EK is looking for 100 direct entry captains this year alone. They already have 700 FOs employed, so I would figure that command for a new joiner now must be closer to 7yrs than the 3yrs it was, or to 3.5 to 4yrs for a Bus FO there now.
With the new goings on at Jet star, the unease at QF and the new CX FO positions on the east coast, things are far from boring in Oz aviation at the moment.