EK Conditions

[MylordF]

Beware; just heard that a DEC arrived only to find his pay was to be 16% lower than agreed at interview. The currency is also worth 20% less than a year ago against the pound or Euro. Any F/O applicants might like to consider that there are now 909 pilots in the company. We will have 2000 by 2010. Still 3 years to command? Mnay good things about the Company and Dubai, but come with your eyes open!!!

[stormcloud]

Not forgetting:

Captains being rostered 90+ hours per month.

Augmented crew duty to only count 75%.

Dubious rostering.

No choice of accom'n.

No pay rise for years n' years.

The management .......

[menard]

Well, not even half way through the expansion, management spreading the seeds, I guess they will harvest the results.....Lets watch and see!

[Bo Jingly]

We'll have to put this under review........

[desert_knight]

Ahhhh yes, but don't forget that 50% of the salary is protected again'st exchage rate fluctuations.

[Alien 433 ETAC]

Is EK going to hire F/O's and RP's (relief pilots) or are all F/O's on the line already flying in relief.... How does rostering work in that regard?

Cheers! Alien

[Alien 433 ETAC]

On the subject of pay,

Aren't EK pilots paid in dirham?

I don't understand why exchange rate would matter if living in Dubai and being paid in dirham... Why would they pay me in Canadian dollars/british pound/Euro etc. if I moved there for the long term?

Regards. Alien

[330 Man]

MylordF, As I am sure you know, a DEC could not show up in DXB and find that his pay will be 16% lower than agreed on during the interview. The DEC would not come unless he had a signed contract with the pay clearly spelled out. If the pay in the contract was 16% lower than anticipated, and he signed it anyway than the place for blame is obvious. Even at EK the pay in the contract can not be reduced.

A new jioning group started on the 17 Jan bring the seniority list up to 923. This group includes 6 DEC's and 4 F/O's.

Also you should take into consideration when counting future staffing, that all of the aircraft on order will require extra crews for the ultra long haul. This will lead to a higher Captains per airplane requirement.

It is not all rosy, but it is not all bad either!

Regards,

330 Man

[BigGeordie]

Maybe his pay was 16% less when converted into the currency of his home country? My pay has taken a hammering over the last couple of months when you look at it that way, but it is hardly Emirates fault.

[mach-hog]

For prospective DECs and FOs @ EK I would like to post some insider feedback, having fairly recently joined up over here (last year). There are a few large political issues of course, the head of pilot recruitment resigned recently, a bold and correct gesture in the face of EK managements' effort to impoverish the FOs who could upgrade and it was nice to see someone take a stand on the lowering of standards for DECs. A large number of training captains have also resigned. Management have responded by indicating that resigning from a training position will be commensurate with qutting the company to attepmppt to stop this. Great!!! (?) Remember - no labour laws or collective labour action here= no protection. The pay is not great - if you want to live well here in DXB, it costs a lot. Cars are expensive, though fueling it is cheap! Groceries at western style markets cost more than home. Most FOs with children don't save any or much money. The top schools, (depending on nationality and preference), have fees or costs which are higher than the allowance provided. Accomodation is hit and miss, albeit not exactly the company's fault as they have to locate what the market provides. On the other hand, if the purse strings were loosened a bit, perhaps a higher standard could be made available.... Management has been too slow to respond to the DEC concerns amongst the pilot group..The December meeting won't be followed up until the 29th of Feb. Oh sorry, that's now the 28th of February..... Bitterness and rancor have not abated and indeed have taken root now and will continue to grow. The company does a lot to get you over here, and then basically sits back - the burden of dealing with all the local beaurocracy is left to the individual and is a bit of a quicksand - once in you feel you'll never get out. I have lots of experience with global ops and this place has a strangle hold on beaurocracy... it has been raised to a hellishly fine art. As pilot working conditions seem to be in decline globally, this (EK) seems like a good opportunity, but consider it carefully.

[millerscourt]

As mach-hog rightly points out anyone considering joining ANY expat Airline is on his own and has no rights or protection of any sort. Bear this in mind as EK and the othe Airlines know that once you have joined you are virtually a "Prisoner"

[Bo Jingly]

I'm afraid my career friend is right. To expect anything at the meeting is a little much. The reality is (le shock et horreur); management don't have to concede a thing and probably won't. We all know that conditioins ONLY change for the better (for the pilots I mean) when they have to. That will happen when;

a. People leave (won't happen until the world pilot market changes).

b. Some unfortunate event occurs that grabs the public eye (hopefully will never happen).

c. A new management bod comes along and brings in ideas from other airlines or from his previous job (never beneficial to the workforce that one).

Let's face it people. We really have to do what we're told. In other words 'put up or shut up'. It's a cruel reality and a sad one, because I really believe we could be a world beating airline. The press may think so, but ask any Engineer, Pilot or Cabin Crew and you'll get a different story. As Fish said, 'Good luck'