Emirates to recruit 700 pilots in next 18 months
 

After largely closing its doors to new recruits during the 2009 downturn, Emirates plans to hire more than 700 pilots over the next 18 months to support new routes and aircraft.

The airline has embarked on a recruitment roadshow that will take in much of Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. It kicked off on 4 June in Madrid, one of six new destinations this year. It has already begun services from Dubai to Tokyo and Amsterdam, with Prague, Baghdad and Dakar to follow.

Emirates - which has a 147-strong fleet with six aircraft due to arrive this year, part of 144 on order - traditionally recruits only first officers.

Capt Alan Stealey, divisional senior vice-president flight operations, says Emirates is recruiting at a time when much of the industry is cutting back. The airline recently took delivery of its ninth Airbus A380 and will accept number 10 within days.

"That's two giant aircraft to staff in the space of a fortnight," he says. "By the end of the year we will have recruited more than 250 pilots. Next year, we're looking to double that figure and recruit 500."
http://http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/06/03/342734/emirates-to-recruit-700-pilots-in-next-18-months.html

Get out the Arab Dictionaries and the sunglasses esp after the news lately coming out of VB.:ok:

good to have other options available:)

safe flying

Pity Qantas can't think outside the square and try something new ... Chicago, Dallas, Paris, Rome ... something??!!??

The premium market is supposedly picking up and for the first time in the last 3 years, Qantas may have some excess capacity available when the next A380s arrive. So what's the big picture plan? Retire 400s to the desert, leave many, many mainline pilots sitting around on assigned leave, set up a new (even cheaper no doubt) low-cost operation in Singapore to fly low-cost operations to Europe and hire cadets for Jetstar.

Unbelievable!!!!!

Nothing like recruiting employees when their under duress. This should keep a lid on their terms and conditions for another couple of years!

Unfortunately Shark Patrol QF is poorly geographically positioned as opposed to Emirates. QF are really only looking at an Australian market as opposed to Emirates who can take you from one part of the world to the other. Emirates open Madrid and they can offer flights from all of Asia and Australia and Africa connecting to the Madrid flight. QF are not going be able to expand like that.

It may be worthwhile updating the CV and submitting an application especially
if you are employed by VA. With the impending reduction in flying and therfore a surplus of crews it may be one of the only options available.

How do they crew their larger aircraft in regards to a second officers?

Do they use FOs, cadets or what??

I'd urge anyone looking to apply for Emirates to check the Middle East section of this forum for news and information. It makes for excellent reading. The money may look good in AUD, but Dubai isn't all sugar and spice.

Cheers,

Showa.

We don't employ second officers.

Three crew is 1 Captain, 2 F/Os.

We recently got approval to crew 4 man crews as one Captain 3 f/os, but for ops flexability still crew all ULR (JFK,LAX,SFO,IAH,YYZ and GRU) 2 Captains, 2 F/Os

True enough, there are certainly challenges here and many are not Happy. Some of us, however, are enjoying life and appreciating the advantages of being here.

It's not as good as it was, but it's still a good package.

Ah yes Wizofoz but to get even a third pilot, your EK crew has to fly a LOT longer than anyone else. Otherwise it's TWO pilots. Back of clock sectors, both ways on some trips, NINE hours plus. TWO pilots. Enjoy fellas.....

Why bother going on a roadshow...just go to the 'ol U.S...should be able to draw a sizeable crowd in the outer carpark of LAX..

..in fact if they offer hot soup and bread long queues of veteren jet pilots will begin to form quickly in most cities!

caveat emptor lads, the sand is not greener.

Our FTLs are a direct cut'n'paste of CAP 371, the British legislation.

It's almost identical to the exemption to CAO 48 I used to fly under at Ansett, EXCEPT we could do 1000hrs/year under that, while we are limited to 900 here.


Much more restrictive than US. Canadian or most other European FTL schemes.

Yes, there are night trips and they are no fun- they very much remind me of the BOC SYD-PER-SYD trips that made up 80% of my flying for 4 years as a 767 FO at Ansett, or the three-in-a-row night trips to Greece I used to do flying Charter in the UK.

But don't let the truth get in the way of a good story.....

Wiz,

You seem to be one of the more level-headed respondents wrt the ME. What would be the attraction of a domestic Oz pilot to Emirates? (I say that considering the relatively high mins required for Emirates) What promotion prospects? Any hint at all of Oz basings for Mrats bograts?

Cheers

Wiz of oz is full of ****.
Our FTL is the loosest on earth. E.G ICN - DXB pushing 10 hours flight time. Depart midnight. sign on 1 hour before departure, except you really start
1 hr 45 mins before departure. Discretion ( I never do ) extensions of duty, annex 1. That is just one flight.

The package is average. It is defiantly not worth leaving the best country on earth for. The cost of DXB is very high. The package will increase in the near future. The new recruits are not up to par, we need 700 good guys and gals, ie
you lot for one, they will start to pay for quality again soon.

I don't want to be all negative. Good route structure, excellent flight crew to work with, decent roster bidding, and good lifestyle to see your mates. You will work for your money, and some of the back of the clock flying is nothing like your used to at home.

Good luck, think long and hard, do your research, and if at the roadshow ask if what you read in the mid-east forum is true.

PS to answer a question above. NEVER EVER Basings anywhere. EK would not get away with most things if unions were involved. In DXB they have absolute Power over you.

I personally know about 5 ex VB Captains who went chasing the widebody dream and greener pastures a few years ago. ALL are trying to get back to VB as EMB FO's just to get back to oz. As someone said do your research carefully. Anyone who knows about EK will tell you the golden days are long gone.

Up yours Motley. You have no idea what you are talking about and make yourself look like a dork by displaying your ignorence.

ICN is a ball-breaking trip. It would also be legal under British, US, Canadian and the Australian exemption some airlines operate under.

Ansett used to do Tokyo-Sydney, BOC in both the 767 and 747. 11hrs at some times of the year.

Under the US FARs a two man crew can do a 16hr, unlimited sector day after an 8hr rest period.

Our FTLs allow rosters that are very tiring. They are imperfect and being pushed to the limit.

But making statements like "Loosest on Earth" (ignoring the fact you were needlessly insulting as well as plain wrong) is the sort of stupid, exagerated, hysterical hyperbola that makes so much of our proffestion look like spoilt school girls.

If you like, I'll PM you my mobile and I'm more than happy to discuss how "Full of ****" I am in person.

Motley,

Thank you for your level-headed :rolleyes:response. It would be interesting to know why VB Captains no less, allegedly have moved to Dubai and now wish to return. The golden age of aviation appears to have passed in many countries including Australia.

Anyone who joins EK with a view to one day getting a basing ANYWHERE EXCEPT DUBAI is joining under a complete delusion. Company policy is NO BASINGS...PERIOD! (NB this may one day be revisited if there is a complete change of Senior Management, but EK is an integral part of DXB Inc-that means recycling Money with TOTAL AND COMPLETE control. Unions , or indeed organised labour, are illegal).

At present the seniority list stops somewhere North of 2300. Normal attrition is approximately 2-3%. If you joined now with any idea that you will have a Command within 8-10 years you are again delusional-or unable to compute simple arithmatic! If you took a long term view, and keeping in mind that proviso for D.E.C's still exists, and want to see the world then come and have a look. It IS great experience, and most guys you work with are great: although as far as the pilots go staff disengagement is TOTAL; but bloody hard work with multiple back of the clock 11hr plus duties, plus huge East/West Time Zone changes on a weekly basis (B777).

Finally, this is the Middle East-it is VERY DIFFERENT, you have NO right to challenge or question anything the company does: I will repeat that: You have NO right to challenge!!!. Your contract pertains to the bond only, all other conditions are subject to change at the Company's whim, and the changes are non-contestable. Look at the Middle East Forums to see how things have degraded in the last few years. Come here with your eyes wide open. Whatever you choose, ultimately it is your decision, they don't make you sign on. Caveat Emptor.

SC,

As you can see, being "level headed" is akin to being a heretic with some at EK!

It's very much up to the individual as to whether coming here would be a good move. From a financial standpoint you are probably going to do better in the long run than the likes of J* or Tiger, but money isn't everything.

Command probably 5 or 6 years for someone joining now.

Lifestyle? Definatley not a laid-back existence like Aus. The driving is crazy, service is hit-and-miss and during summer it is just STUPID hot.

It is, however, an interesting look at how the world works, the machines are nice and the destinations second to none.

Were I currently a VB 737 Captain, I wouldn't leave it for an F/O slot here.

But a newish Tiger F/O? I can see the attraction.

Basings? We live in hope but I wouldn't come here on the expectaion.Good chance it will never happen.

CTL- Factor in the fact we still have 140 aircraft on firm order, with probably more to come.

I see you have taken this recent myth and run with it. The letter of employment is a binding contract. Would you please give one example of where the company has actually breached the letter of that document? (Note, niether the 3% increment nor productivitey is mentioned in it. Utilities is and if they charged for them it would be a breach. In spite of the cap I am not aware of anyone actually being charged for going over it.) If it were breached you would have redress both in the UAE Labour court and the country in which you signed it.

WIZ go sulk under you rock ( sand ) PM me your mobile. AS if I want to talk to you. I get enough pointless calls in DXB from financial whatevers.
Calm down, Loosest on earth, just want people to know how crap our rosters CAN be. Yes other airlines have similar FTL's, but do they push them to the limits we often experience.

please show me another airline that does DXB - SFO 2 days off and DXB - SYD. Then again fatigue is a myth to guys like you is it?

Anyway everyone make your own mind up, don't listen to us, what would we know. Just don't complain 6 months after you join.

Unlike you?

That would be so funny if it didn't show what a dick you are...

Wizofoz,

I don't want to get into the debate about the relative merits of EK FTL and living in the sandpit, but I must correct your recollection of Ansett's Japan operation. AN never operated to Tokyo, the only destination was KIX, and the BOC flight was KIX-BNE, not KIX-SYD. From memory the scheduled flight time time was less than 9 hours. Also that was only operated by the B747 not the B767.

WIZFOZ

Son. What colour are your glasses? I know of an ex Emirate Captain who quit the desert to fly a simulator in Brisbane. The flying was life destroying. He must have taken quite a pay drop as well.

DGR,

Thanks for that. Point is, everything we do at EK would have been legal under the AN exemption, AND we got to do an extra 100hrs per year.

A380- Good news- silly to have the guy sitting in the back, though, when he could be helping out.

Capt777,

See, this is what annoys me. Read my posts. I try and give a fair and balanced view of the good and the bad here, but anything but a hysterical, totally negative post as seen from most here (who, you might notice, seem to choose to stay. There is at least one regular poster on the ME board who has been bitching incessantly, saying how he's leaving if things don't improve, for almost FIVE YEARS!) meets with derision and insult.

We are working bloody hard to an extent that is acknowledged as unsustainable. I start a week tonight that will leave me totally buggered. My point is that's the game and I've had periods the same pretty much everywhere I've worked, and next month my Family and I fly free, business class to JFK for leave.

Yes some have left. One guy I know is leaving to become a Real Estate salesman and I wish him all the very best.

But a lot more are coming than leaving and most, in spite of the whining, are staying.

Wiz, I believe I too was trying to give a 'balanced' view, by stating fact. Although I don't-yet-know of anyone charged for utilities, the Company have informed all that this will be the case-a flagrant contract violation, and the cause of much angst for many of our peers. You are correct in your statement about the 3% etc as far as my contract goes, but I have friends who have been here well over 10 years whose employment agreement categorically states the increment. Mine (and yours) does it by inference, and if one was to expect 'good faith' on the part of EK, we would have received the increments we were all supposed to for the last couple of years. May I suggest you talk to some EK airport staff outside DXB, who were also categorically told 'no increment'. The company kept this up until faced with the prospect of the AIRC, and then magnanimously decided, at the eleventh hour (and the threat of legal action for contract breach) to pay, with no explanation whatsoever to the staff for the extremely aggressive response they got when first queried. Unfortunately, to the dismay of EK, in the first world the staff have rights and industrial protection.

FTL's: for most they are just that, a limit. For us they are a Target, with no thought of the future consequences of long term fatigue (consider the Orwellian response: We have studied this and you are not fatigued), and the fact that we have numerous pilots on 'forced leave' due to the fact they have hit their 900 hrs. That is notwithstanding that the 900hrs are in reality 1000-1100 as time in the bunk (or simulator, or doing any of the dozen plus mandatory Pelesys courses, SEP's, CRM etc) does not count for FTL's. I don't know of any other major carrier that doesn't count all time on company directed employ for the purposes of duty.

As far as my statement that we have no right to challenge, it was meant in reference to the movement of the overtime threshold, the constant changes in the Medical Insurance (limits on physio etc), the changes to ALT destination conditions for our Nth American colleagues etc...the list goes on, and we can not redress any of this.

The 140 aircraft on order include fleet replacement, I still stand by my assertion that a new joiner would be unlikely to have command prospects in less than 8 years, assuming of course that the Company doesn't arbitrarily change the Upgrade requirements again.

As my previous post said, this is not home. You have none of the rights that you take for granted (unfair dismissal hearings, legal defences etc). If you upset the wrong person you are history, as decisions cannot be reversed due to 'loss of face'. If you come here with your eyes wide open, you may still enjoy yourself, that comes down to the individual experience. I am here because it still works for me, but I do have an exit strategy and a definite time frame.

Hi CTL,

That IS a well balanced post, but I do disagree with a couple of points-

Your first paragraph seems to actually confirm what I said. i.e Emirates have not broken the letter of the contract (Increments only ever went to ten years, didn't they? So anyone here ten years was on top increment anyway), and if they did, the respondent has redress in the courts of the country the agreement was signed in.

Of course we don't have legal redress for reduction in conditions the company weren't legally bound to provide. Dissapointing, certainly, but you can only ever count on what is in black and white. An "Implied" right, like a verbal contract, isn't worth the price of the paper it's written on!

As to FTLs, sorry, but EVERY company (bar one) I have worked for has treated then as a target. At easyJet we had to sub-charter in aircraft every year as the majority of our pilots hit their 900hr limit. At Ansett we had guys hitting the 1000hrs. Not saying it's right or good, but it isn't unique by any means.

Factoring is a crock and I suspect will not last given some time.

Simulator and Ground duty IS duty for the purpose of max duty time and required days off/ rest periods. It is NOT credit time for pay purposes. Again, this varies in other companies. In AN you got credit for Sim, at EZ you didn't. In NONE of them did it count towards monthly or yearly hour limits.

Yes we will retire some aircraft, but the current orders do mean a substantial net gain in numbers. But, my crystal ball is no clearer than yours. Could be four years, could be twelve. I agree that anyone joining now better be resigned to a sizable spell in the RHS.

Totally correct that we don't have anything like the legal framework and protections we do at home.Anyone coming HAS to understand they are coming to a place with a completely different set of values when it comes to the law, employment, fairness and morality.

That is one of the things that makes Australia such a great place to live.

And THAT is one of the reasons Australian airlines can be such S@#T employers and still get as many applicants as they need!!

Emirates needs 700 Pilots!
 

Wiz,

I do not wish to stir things up, as this thread is quite obviously turning into a P!ssing contest. You make some very good points and you are obviously relatively happy in the sandpit and good for you (you are one of the few). Some of the other posters have made good points also. However, as an Ex AN driver I have flown the SYD-PER-SYD, MEL-PER-MEL and KIX-BNE-SYD many times and I can honestly say (my opinion) it is nowhere near as knackering as doing 3 night turnarounds at EK! This Company's FDL's are a disgrace, especially when it comes to "factoring". The recent change to the PEK, PVG, ICN flights are typical. I.E. Just change the table (number of sectors not acclimatized) eh voilà! No problem now boys, it's fixed!

How many more fatigue related ASR's to these Bozo's in the 'Bouncy Castle' actually need to stop pontificating and telling us how good the outfit is and how we are all bloody lucky to have a job and actually wake up and smell the Coffee! The EK 407 tailscrape should have been a wake up call as should the JNB, ACC and MAN "incidents".

E.K. Use these FDL's (their "interpretation" of CAP 371) as goal posts! Not a Red line!

The "Contract" I was initially given stated that there were 18 increment years??

To form a balanced view, remind us all please what the pay overtime threshold was at AN? And vs EK?

How much money did this company make this FY?
What was the profit target? and What was our profit share this FY?

How much more flying do we do now?
How much LESS pay do we get now?
How was this Company able to make so much money this FY?

How much annual Leave are we entitled to each year?
What is the maximum consecutive days we can take?
If we do take any leave, is there any credit for it??

Guys and Girls as has been already said, look VERY carefully before you leap. All that glitters is not Gold, and the grass is not always greener, just another shade of brown!

This USED to be a very good job, not any more!!

Take care and fly safe :}

EKBD,

Most happy to bow to your experience as to the long haul at AN. I find three night t/as to India at EK about as tiring as doing 3 night T/as to Greece while Charter flying in the UK. I don't know how often I have to say that I'm not saying the FTLs at EK are anything but knackering. They are just not any worse than many other regulations and better than some (Guys going to Turkish will soon find that out!!)

No idea how many increments in older contracts, I thought it was 10. Perhaps a longer serving guy could fill us in? Point being has anyone with a contractual right to an increment not been given it? Was the increment in yours a contractual obligation on the part of the company?

What has the OT threshold at AN got to do with anything? Are you considering leaving AN to come to EK or visa-versa- You'd find either difficult. People need to compare what is AVAILABLE to what they have- not what happened in a company that dissapeared a decade ago. In any case, it's the bottom line, not the means of calculation that counts.

After the biggest financial crisis in almost a century, we got a pay rise and a bonus, when many commentators said we'd get neither. Neither was huge, but was better than nothing. They have set a target for this year and are obliged to calculate next years bonus based on that.

We are currently doing an unsustainable amount of flying governed by an imperfect FTL scheme and not gaining any extra pay for it. We'd be getting paid much better if the Productivity threshold had not been shifted. I wish it hadn't, I'd certainly like the money!

But are you planning to leave? In overall terms is there a better option for you? If not, how can you know EK is not a BETTER option for a lot of guys in companies you DON'T want to go and work for?

900 hrs a year is the target .they are pushing the regulator for 1000.You will work very hard. You will be treated like the aircrafts tire. The minute its worn out they will simply buy another tire.

A contract that is changeable with a simple " contract adjustment letter" without any negotiation or recourse.
so here it is written , Your contract will not be honoured.

the ability to get fired under the supervision of a training captain. So you better start your line training being a very sharp pencil indeed.
( F/O under training fired for a go around at Manchester). oh and even though you are terminated you will have to pay your training bond.

Forget about basings , you need to understand the way this place works.
the Sheikh wants everyone living here contributing to Dubai's local economy ( to rid their dependance on oil). eg kids in school , grocery shopping , buying a car etc etc.
Basings will never happen.

Gents and ladies , by all means give it a go . But make an informed decision. Speak to mates you know here and " listen" .
The recruitment machine is a one of the fanciest mouse traps ever designed. You will be lied to directly .

Consider condider consider.


.

The Education allowance is not a part of the contract but it IS in the Conditions Document. It was 100% of the cost up to a certain value when I joined. TCK issued a letter stating they thought it was important to "contribute" to your child's upbringing and the coverage was cut to 90%. They can do this because it's not in the contract. Only the bond is in the contract.

The housing deal is not a part of the contract but it IS in the Conditions Document. It was a three bedroom apartment for an FO without children. The reality many new-joiners have found AFTER they've sold up and moved to EK lately is it's two bedrooms for them and the wife and all their gear. They can do this because it's not in the contract. Only the bond is in the contract.

The utilities deal is not a part of the contract but it IS in the Conditions Document. It was previously covered 100% but not there's a cap. True, the cap surplus has not been charged as far as anyone knows but this is only due to the utterly SHAMBOLIC system DEWA runs. In their unseemly zeal for ripping people off, they have made it impossible to gain access to the bills. Even EK cannot tell who owes what and so we've not heard anymore about it. FOR NOW. When they sort it out, they will start charging the expats for their utilities; nothing could be more certain. Not ALL of them; only the ones who live in villas. Oh and not the management either. Just the pilots. They can do this because Utilities are not in the contract. Only the bond is in the contract.

The pay scales are not a part of the contract but were bundled to me with the Conditions Document. I signed that 10 page document but they did not. In fact they didn't care if I signed it. They can ignore my payscale schedule because it's not in the contract. Only the bond is in the contract.

Last year they did exactly that. No incremental increase despite their promise. Several years ago, we received payrises of around 10% (still well below the double-digit boom-town rate of local inflation) because they were desperate for pilots. Last year, when they were comfortable with pilot numbers, they erased those gains in one fell swoop by increasing the overtime threshold rate to the monthly maximum we can legally do over a 12 month period. They can do this because pay rates are not in the contract. Only the bond is in the contract.

Would you like more examples?

I suspect Mr. Wiz will say, "Well there you go. It wasn't in the contract so you cannot complain." True. I try not to complain here about non-existent breaches of contract but I do not like being LIED TO. But being LIED TO is something you must get used to at EK or pull your hair out in frustration. Conditions elsewhere might be similar but the LIES and the HATRED of pilots by management at EK eclipses anything I have ever seen or heard of anywhere else. Remember the Irish git? TCK? TCTC? TCAS's blatant LIES at last year's meetings? TCED's anti-pilot buffoonery?

MY CONTRACT HAS BEEN UPHELD. I SIGNED A CONTRACT BONDING MYSELF TO EK FOR THREE YEARS AND NOTHING MORE. IF I LEFT, I WOULD'VE BEEN FORCED TO PAY UP. THE BOND HAS EXPIRED. EK HONOURED MY "CONTRACT" BUT THEY HAVE CHANGED EVERYTHING ELSE OF IMPORTANCE WHICH I THOUGHT I HAD IN A CONTRACT BUT IN FACT DID NOT.

By the way, something else important to the employee - LEAVE. Also not in the contract and they've fiddled with that too. Forced allocations of a few days here, a few there. No longer any credit for leave so you will still fly as much of a full month of flying as they can squeeze into the remaining days - minus the DAYS OFF - so that the only difference to any other month is 5 of your 42 days leave has been frittered away and they are happy! Aussies will no doubt soon get tired of jetting back to Australia for a 5 days break. It's just too far.

You get driven to work in a limousine. Well its an Audi car. The reason they pick you up is not because you are valued; it's so that you can be delivered to work approximately 55min before your duty commences. This is necessary as the crew bus to the aircraft leaves the HQ 10min before the duty actually commences (at 1hr before ETD). And the briefing ends 10min before THAT (ETD-20min) so you need all that extra off duty time to do your required briefings, talk to the crew, etc. or the flight would be late. Nearly an hour of off-duty time spent working every time you go to work - Illegal? Unethical? It's SOP at EK.

The best part is, although you're technically off-duty for the first 40-55 min of the work day and therefore not accruing Duty Time, you can and will still be Drug and/or Alcohol Tested and prosecuted if you fail!

Oh the weather..... temps in the 40s all this week. Humidity getting to "extreme" now and will stay that way until end of October. It has to be felt to be believed.

I've heard they're canceling or have canceled the free flight to Dubai for the interview. They only offer that when they're desperate. Rest of the time they charge the prospective employee for the privilege of the interview. Better hurry.....

Regardless of where you work this is good news for all pilots. Let the party begin.

Hi ProPete...

Good post, I sort of got the point...

A few years ago, when I was flying for Air Atlanta, I could have sworn you were talking about them!!

But at least we had proper 3 man crews in the 747s then....

Cheers...FD...:)

I have also heard that Emirates will be in Oz later this year looking for engineers.
No doubt QF and AMSA have some young engineers with A380 experience, of course Emirates would be happy to take them to the Sandpit for whalejet maintenance. Why train when you can pilfer.

Ask the ex-engineers in Christchurch how well they were treated. And Houston, LAX and San Francisco......

halas

Halas,how were they treated?

Pro Pete , sorry but I dont know when you got your agreement/contract.

Mine says under the title Response on pg 9 " This contract of employment" bla bla


The training bond is mentioned on pg 7 . This is on the same contract

although another agreement was also draughted to explain more details of the training bomd.

So all I see is the word contract on the document that I signed and they have reneged on a few paragraphs in the said contract . Fact.

Its possible they changed this to use the word agreement on later documents ( new hires) but not on mine. Even if this is the case it just validates my origonal point. That you join here with absouloutely nothing to go by. What is on offer is all heresay. They may as well promise you a command in 6 months , basings anywhere in the world and a rolls royce to transport you to work. Any agreement /contract/ piece of paper is worth squat. Any verbal statement by the recruitment team is equally as worthless.

And in the said Rolls Royce, you will still need to wind the window down to breathe some fresh air in the middle of 50 deg summer heat, because your sub-continental driver has been living, eating, sleeping and farting in it for his 12 hour shift, in unwashed clothes due to his accomodation issues!

Even the smell of brand new leather can fail to cover a the reality of life as an expat!

Any Virgin Blue FO want to swap his job for mine?
I'll gladly go back to Oz and short haul...

What a laugh, seriously, no unions in DXB but hey there are unions in Aus right? Just ask some of the unfortunate FO's how they were approached about their career options when it came to the probable redundancies fiasco and how they were subsequently treated.
Or the sister tripler fellows that interviewed recently and didn't get the nod, and not because of inability but rather being cheaper and more useful to the company in their current role.

They are happy recruit from the street because it costs them nothing as they can make money from eager ''jet'' wishing people but give internal applicants no means of a career progression.

Gunslapper, if you think that you have made an uninformed decision once by joining EK,please do learn from it, especially when suggesting a role swap.
If you want to be served by an absent minded 18 yearold and be told '' 2 dollars for a can of coke'' then please do join the ''get what you want'' fallacy.