EK Housing Mess..
Join Date: Apr 2002
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Must say it would not take a bunch of rocket scientist to have forseen this problem so you can only amagine the clowns that work in the accomodation department. "Assess, action and manage" Poor planning on behalf of a worlds leading airline with huge growth and recruitment. Makes you wonder?
Join Date: Oct 2007
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GulfNews makes a highly valid point.
Once committed to EK and the country they will, and do control many aspects of your life. Big Brother like no-where else. One could argue this is necessary given the security issues of the region. They need to keep a close eye on who is doing what but that also means they keep a close eye on you. Closer than many think.
This also indirectly ensures there are few rights. Even the legal system is such that it is clumsy and expensive. It can be almost impossible to get law enforced if there is an issue. Many take advantage based on the premis that the plaintive will be tied up for years and wind up bankrupt in their quest to get justice done. In my years I've seen several cases of this. Generally people have to give up and go home. Dreams shattered.
There must be financial advantage to offset these risks. There was once, but now it is definitely not there. What more can be said? Speak to someone who has been here a while and come with eyes wide open.
Once committed to EK and the country they will, and do control many aspects of your life. Big Brother like no-where else. One could argue this is necessary given the security issues of the region. They need to keep a close eye on who is doing what but that also means they keep a close eye on you. Closer than many think.
This also indirectly ensures there are few rights. Even the legal system is such that it is clumsy and expensive. It can be almost impossible to get law enforced if there is an issue. Many take advantage based on the premis that the plaintive will be tied up for years and wind up bankrupt in their quest to get justice done. In my years I've seen several cases of this. Generally people have to give up and go home. Dreams shattered.
There must be financial advantage to offset these risks. There was once, but now it is definitely not there. What more can be said? Speak to someone who has been here a while and come with eyes wide open.
Join Date: Feb 2006
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From someone who has been here a while.
Joined EK 11 years ago, put into temorary accom. for 6 weeks. !!!!!!!
Moved into my new permanent appt. Didn't like, approached the folks in accommodation, and they moved me into the appt. I wanted 3 months later. Perfect. Stayed for 4 years here. Big rise in utilities allowance so took the gamble and moved from company housing to going "solo".
7 years later I am well ahead of the game. Get payed utlities of approx. 142,000 pa and rent 3 bed villa at Mirdif for 96,000, basement, swimming pool and gym. Aircraft can be noisey, but get used to this as you do with all the background noise of traffic and ongoing building.
Being an expat is for the long haul, swings and roundabouts. Stick with it and you will gain some and lose some. Overall I have enjoyed the experience. You will never know unless you try it !
Joined EK 11 years ago, put into temorary accom. for 6 weeks. !!!!!!!
Moved into my new permanent appt. Didn't like, approached the folks in accommodation, and they moved me into the appt. I wanted 3 months later. Perfect. Stayed for 4 years here. Big rise in utilities allowance so took the gamble and moved from company housing to going "solo".
7 years later I am well ahead of the game. Get payed utlities of approx. 142,000 pa and rent 3 bed villa at Mirdif for 96,000, basement, swimming pool and gym. Aircraft can be noisey, but get used to this as you do with all the background noise of traffic and ongoing building.
Being an expat is for the long haul, swings and roundabouts. Stick with it and you will gain some and lose some. Overall I have enjoyed the experience. You will never know unless you try it !
Join Date: Apr 2006
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Be proactive
Joined 18mths ago, at the interview made it very clear that DSO would not work for my famliy, some thing about getting back on the next A/C out springs to mind.
The Interviewers were gracious and honest, not their dept etc but would pass it along.
When offer arrived, on the advise of a chum I went to some lengths stipulating what our requirements were, where the kids were going to school, etc etc.
It worked ...... nice pad right where we wanted to be, close to school, beach, mall, but 35 mins from airport great!
My advise is a) remember that the interview is a 2 way process b) put down as much detail as you can on joiners form, so the company don't have to guess c) don't come here with any rose tinted specs it is reality in the raw.
That said we are happy, having fun and in general much better off than if we had not come, but it is different for everybody.
The Interviewers were gracious and honest, not their dept etc but would pass it along.
When offer arrived, on the advise of a chum I went to some lengths stipulating what our requirements were, where the kids were going to school, etc etc.
It worked ...... nice pad right where we wanted to be, close to school, beach, mall, but 35 mins from airport great!
My advise is a) remember that the interview is a 2 way process b) put down as much detail as you can on joiners form, so the company don't have to guess c) don't come here with any rose tinted specs it is reality in the raw.
That said we are happy, having fun and in general much better off than if we had not come, but it is different for everybody.
Join Date: Oct 2005
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Big rise in utilities allowance so took the gamble and moved from company housing to going "solo".
7 years later I am well ahead of the game. Get payed utlities of approx. 142,000 pa and rent 3 bed villa at Mirdif for 96,000, basement, swimming pool and gym. Aircraft can be noisey, but get used to this as you do with all the background noise of traffic and ongoing building.
Roster Change,
Would that be possible nowadays? Getting a good villa with the House Allowance? You did it in the past, could a new joiner do it today?
Reading the rumors here at Prunne, seems that you would be expending more money than you get paid to get a good place to live if you go on the House Allowance road.
SF
7 years later I am well ahead of the game. Get payed utlities of approx. 142,000 pa and rent 3 bed villa at Mirdif for 96,000, basement, swimming pool and gym. Aircraft can be noisey, but get used to this as you do with all the background noise of traffic and ongoing building.
Roster Change,
Would that be possible nowadays? Getting a good villa with the House Allowance? You did it in the past, could a new joiner do it today?
Reading the rumors here at Prunne, seems that you would be expending more money than you get paid to get a good place to live if you go on the House Allowance road.
SF
Join Date: Sep 2007
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I think the long and short of it is, delaying to join EK for the sake of "they should improve the accomodation matter ............" theory is stabbing in the dark. Am sure in the big scheme of things, they are a good company to work for. Like l say take a number and join the seniority or whatever it is they have going on there.........you want to be up there with all the aircraft orders they have lined up than complaining about something you have no power over, before things change. And in this part of the world things can change very quickly.........
With all the bru ha ha on Pprune, you would think nobody is joining EK, QR, EY...........
With all the bru ha ha on Pprune, you would think nobody is joining EK, QR, EY...........
Join Date: Dec 2002
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Thanks for the response about the housing problems at EK. I am leaving for the interview in a couple of days and will just treat it as an extended vacation to learn about the company. I will not hold back with the inteviewers regarding many issues on this forum. I dont know if it will do any good but i am interviewing emirates more than they are interviewing me.
Topics include: why people are leaving, why the low morale, why did you guys not realize the problems with the housing market, why the constant changes in rules, and many more. I dont expect any miracles but instead, just want straight answers without drinking the kool-aid.
I know that dubai is a third world country with money and a lack of rights of certain individuals, but it does not hurt to be up front and ask important questions that impact my family.
On a side note, can my dog get the same freedom that it has here in the states. I have a pet poodle and cant live without him.
newbie
Topics include: why people are leaving, why the low morale, why did you guys not realize the problems with the housing market, why the constant changes in rules, and many more. I dont expect any miracles but instead, just want straight answers without drinking the kool-aid.
I know that dubai is a third world country with money and a lack of rights of certain individuals, but it does not hurt to be up front and ask important questions that impact my family.
On a side note, can my dog get the same freedom that it has here in the states. I have a pet poodle and cant live without him.
newbie
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"I thought the Queen was part german, with a little bit of greek thrown in occasionally "
... well, that's spot on - the whole english royalty has german roots -
ands should be correctly called "Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha"
which is of course in Germany .... like it or not ...
if you want to have more details, why the english are german derived -
beside t
he fact that even their capital was founded by the romans and called
"Londinum" - years ago ... have a read furtheron -u might be surprised
"Is British Royalty Really German Royalty?"well -at least partly, but not wholly,
as it is not at all unusual for European royal families to have bloodlines and names from foreign nations. After all, it was common for European dynasties over the centuries to use marriage as a political tool for empire-building. The Austrian Habsburgs even boasted of their talent in this regard: "Let others wage war; you, happy Austria, marry."* (See Austria Today for more.) But few people are aware of how recent the British royal family name "Windsor" is, or that it replaced very German names.
The House of Windsor
The Windsor name now used by Queen Elizabeth II and other British royals only dates back to 1917. Before that the British royal family bore the German name Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha in German). Why the drastic name change?
The answer to that question is simple: World War I. Since August 1914 Britain had been at war with Germany. Anything German had a bad connotation, including the German name Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Not only that, Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm was a cousin of the British king. So on July 17, 1917,to prove his loyalty to England, Queen Victoria's grandson King George V officially declared that "all descendents in the male line of Queen Victoria, who are subjects of these realms, other than female descendents who marry or who have married, shall bear the name Windsor." Thus the king himself, who was a member of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, changed his own name and that of his wife, Queen Mary, and their children to Windsor. The new English name Windsor was taken randomly and by chance from one of the king's castles
As a matter of fact six British monarchs, including Queen Victoria and the infamous King George III during the American Revolution, were members of the German House of Hanover:
George I (ruled 1714-1727)
George II (ruled 1727-1760)
George III (ruled 1760-1820)
George IV (ruled 1820-1830)
William IV (ruled 1830-1837)
Victoria (ruled 1837-1901)
Before becoming the first British king of the Hanoverian line in 1714, George I (who spoke more German than English) had been the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneberg (der Herzog von Braunschweig-Lüneberg). The first three royal Georges in the House of Hannover (also known as the House of Brunswick, Hanover Line) were also electors and dukes of Brunswick-Lüneberg. Between 1814 and 1837 the British monarch was also the king of Hanover, then a kingdom in what is now Germany.
Queen Elizabeth II confirmed the royal Windsor name in a declaration following her accession in 1952. But in 1960 Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip announced yet another name change. Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, whose mother had been Alice of Battenberg (another german province), had already anglicized his name to Philip Mountbatten when he married Elizabeth in 1947.
Interestingly, all four of Philip's sisters, all now deceased, married Germans!
In her 1960 declaration to the Privy Council, the Queen expressed her wish that her children by Philip (other than those in line for the throne) would henceforth bear the hyphenated name Mountbatten-Windsor. The royal family's name remained Windsor.
... well, that's spot on - the whole english royalty has german roots -
ands should be correctly called "Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha"
which is of course in Germany .... like it or not ...
if you want to have more details, why the english are german derived -
beside t
he fact that even their capital was founded by the romans and called"Londinum" - years ago ... have a read furtheron -u might be surprised
"Is British Royalty Really German Royalty?"well -at least partly, but not wholly,
as it is not at all unusual for European royal families to have bloodlines and names from foreign nations. After all, it was common for European dynasties over the centuries to use marriage as a political tool for empire-building. The Austrian Habsburgs even boasted of their talent in this regard: "Let others wage war; you, happy Austria, marry."* (See Austria Today for more.) But few people are aware of how recent the British royal family name "Windsor" is, or that it replaced very German names.
The House of Windsor
The Windsor name now used by Queen Elizabeth II and other British royals only dates back to 1917. Before that the British royal family bore the German name Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha in German). Why the drastic name change?
The answer to that question is simple: World War I. Since August 1914 Britain had been at war with Germany. Anything German had a bad connotation, including the German name Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Not only that, Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm was a cousin of the British king. So on July 17, 1917,to prove his loyalty to England, Queen Victoria's grandson King George V officially declared that "all descendents in the male line of Queen Victoria, who are subjects of these realms, other than female descendents who marry or who have married, shall bear the name Windsor." Thus the king himself, who was a member of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, changed his own name and that of his wife, Queen Mary, and their children to Windsor. The new English name Windsor was taken randomly and by chance from one of the king's castles
As a matter of fact six British monarchs, including Queen Victoria and the infamous King George III during the American Revolution, were members of the German House of Hanover:
George I (ruled 1714-1727)
George II (ruled 1727-1760)
George III (ruled 1760-1820)
George IV (ruled 1820-1830)
William IV (ruled 1830-1837)
Victoria (ruled 1837-1901)
Before becoming the first British king of the Hanoverian line in 1714, George I (who spoke more German than English) had been the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneberg (der Herzog von Braunschweig-Lüneberg). The first three royal Georges in the House of Hannover (also known as the House of Brunswick, Hanover Line) were also electors and dukes of Brunswick-Lüneberg. Between 1814 and 1837 the British monarch was also the king of Hanover, then a kingdom in what is now Germany.
Queen Elizabeth II confirmed the royal Windsor name in a declaration following her accession in 1952. But in 1960 Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip announced yet another name change. Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, whose mother had been Alice of Battenberg (another german province), had already anglicized his name to Philip Mountbatten when he married Elizabeth in 1947.
Interestingly, all four of Philip's sisters, all now deceased, married Germans!
In her 1960 declaration to the Privy Council, the Queen expressed her wish that her children by Philip (other than those in line for the throne) would henceforth bear the hyphenated name Mountbatten-Windsor. The royal family's name remained Windsor.
Last edited by Cyberbird; 12th Apr 2008 at 21:39.
Join Date: Apr 2005
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Pretentious, Pompous and Pointless
Muttley Crew,
What a pretentious, pompous and pointless post. Rant, speculate and 'whinge' by all means but please don't abuse others for the occasional grammatical slip-up. It's not becoming of a gentleman.
Flyer
What a pretentious, pompous and pointless post. Rant, speculate and 'whinge' by all means but please don't abuse others for the occasional grammatical slip-up. It's not becoming of a gentleman.
Flyer
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Sioux115,
We have to apologize for pompous ass****s like Motley Crew. That is why the interview process is so important, not whether one can fit in, but rather if one can put up with the likes of MC.
Oh and by the way, Muttley, your own Oxford University Press lists "interview" as a verb. To quote the verb definition, "hold an interview with". Sorry, but couldn't find a definition of Muttley. Guess it must be your surname. Cheers, Mate.
Jeez, another DeltaAlpha at EK.
We have to apologize for pompous ass****s like Motley Crew. That is why the interview process is so important, not whether one can fit in, but rather if one can put up with the likes of MC.
Oh and by the way, Muttley, your own Oxford University Press lists "interview" as a verb. To quote the verb definition, "hold an interview with". Sorry, but couldn't find a definition of Muttley. Guess it must be your surname. Cheers, Mate.
Jeez, another DeltaAlpha at EK.
Join Date: Feb 2007
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Accom dept & everything else!
Ok...I've been here over 5 years. I have no intention of heading elsewhere. I really enjoy my job. I like the destinations & the plane that I fly. I'd love to earn more money however I made my choice. My family love it here. My children get a wonderful education. The ek clinic is excellent. In nearly all areas I am happy apart from one-The Accomodation Dept. In nearly all my dealings with it (them) I have been left wanting. They have no real understanding of how important this issue of housing really is. Atall. If this was how I ran my aircraft I would be counted negligent. One problem is that they have so many complaints that they start to stick their head in the sand (and there is plenty of it) in the hope that it'll all go away. It doesn't for us!
many people are happy where they are however for each one there is there are plenty left in dispair.
Good job, as I say, in almost every way
many people are happy where they are however for each one there is there are plenty left in dispair.
Good job, as I say, in almost every way
Join Date: Oct 2002
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@Yankee22
nice and helpful post! always nice to read some posts that sophisticated and professional 
In another Forum someone mentioned a meeting at VP level regarding the housing mess.
Can anyone confirm this and what possible conclusions they made?
Where are the Temp. Acc. located?
nice and helpful post!
always nice to read some posts that sophisticated and professional In another Forum someone mentioned a meeting at VP level regarding the housing mess.
Can anyone confirm this and what possible conclusions they made?
Where are the Temp. Acc. located?
Join Date: Nov 2007
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Hey MC,
I edited my post for you. Now maybe you can sleep at night. In the future do not judge my professionalism or my adherence to SOPs by how I reply on anonymous message boards.
Sioux
I edited my post for you. Now maybe you can sleep at night. In the future do not judge my professionalism or my adherence to SOPs by how I reply on anonymous message boards.
Sioux
Join Date: Apr 2008
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Commute to DXB?
Do any of the expat flyers at EK live out of base and commute to work?
Seems like half the base at ORD commutes from somewhere else, but then again it isn't 6 or 7 hours to somewhere habitable.
Seems like half the base at ORD commutes from somewhere else, but then again it isn't 6 or 7 hours to somewhere habitable.
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Somewhere habitable?
ORD767 please apply to EK you'll fit in perfectly. That's sarcasm BTW just in case it's too cold in Chicago at the moment for you to recognise it.
I'm not sure, given the tone, if the question in your post deserves a response but here we go.
NO THIS IS NOT A COMMUTING JOB!
EVENTUALLY YOU WILL BE PROVIDED WITH PERMANENT ACCOMADATION IN WHICH YOU ARE EXPECTED TO LIVE AND WHICH MAKES UP A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF YOUR REMUNERATION PACKAGE.
My apologies I sound like a presidential candidate attacking his/her opponent for a "mis-statement". Just woke-up, still tired, standard EK.
Scaglietti
PS. New rostering restrictions really do not allow for commuting.
ORD767 please apply to EK you'll fit in perfectly. That's sarcasm BTW just in case it's too cold in Chicago at the moment for you to recognise it.
I'm not sure, given the tone, if the question in your post deserves a response but here we go.
NO THIS IS NOT A COMMUTING JOB!
EVENTUALLY YOU WILL BE PROVIDED WITH PERMANENT ACCOMADATION IN WHICH YOU ARE EXPECTED TO LIVE AND WHICH MAKES UP A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF YOUR REMUNERATION PACKAGE.
My apologies I sound like a presidential candidate attacking his/her opponent for a "mis-statement". Just woke-up, still tired, standard EK.
Scaglietti
PS. New rostering restrictions really do not allow for commuting.
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Since turning down the opportunity in EK, I’ve been watching developments closely, mainly out of curiosity. It’s only been over a month now and I can safely say that it seems to get worse there. Apart from the obvious inflation rate and poor pay package which was the fundamental reason for avoiding the place, it now transpires there is a BIG accommodation issue.
This is the icing on the cake for me even bothering to ponder any concerns about my initial decision, considering I was told that only a few months delay in permanent accommodation might be the case. It would seem that when you join, you are given a contract but if the company can’t honour their side of the contract, there is no recourse. In the contract it states that the company will provide you accommodation, but it now transpires that they can’t give you permanent accommodation for 6-12 months! No problems but who pays for storage or the fact that you may have to register in a number of schools, not once but twice, once for temporary accommodation and again when (if) permanent comes up, the new employee appears to pay for the majority of this, twice.
From comments on the ME forum, the standard of the temporary accommodation leaves a lot to be desired. Talk of permanent accommodation in Mirdif is also absurd. Having to try and sleep outside a circadian rhythmic sleep patterns is bad enough, now add variable aircraft noise to the equation and you are building a recipe for personal sanity. http://www.psychnet-uk.com/dsm_iv/circadian_rhythm_sleep_disorder.htm
The accommodation saga, coupled with the initial concerns about inflation and the obvious fatigue issues surrounding 24 layovers on ULR flights is… crazy. I now know that I have significantly increased my chances of enjoying retirement for a number of years instead of burning out or being burnt out.
It is sad that Emirates could easily afford to look after it’s staff and still make loads of dosh, but I guess managers in the airline, like all airlines, have got to shine and prove their jobs worth…. at our expense !
This is the icing on the cake for me even bothering to ponder any concerns about my initial decision, considering I was told that only a few months delay in permanent accommodation might be the case. It would seem that when you join, you are given a contract but if the company can’t honour their side of the contract, there is no recourse. In the contract it states that the company will provide you accommodation, but it now transpires that they can’t give you permanent accommodation for 6-12 months! No problems but who pays for storage or the fact that you may have to register in a number of schools, not once but twice, once for temporary accommodation and again when (if) permanent comes up, the new employee appears to pay for the majority of this, twice.
From comments on the ME forum, the standard of the temporary accommodation leaves a lot to be desired. Talk of permanent accommodation in Mirdif is also absurd. Having to try and sleep outside a circadian rhythmic sleep patterns is bad enough, now add variable aircraft noise to the equation and you are building a recipe for personal sanity. http://www.psychnet-uk.com/dsm_iv/circadian_rhythm_sleep_disorder.htm
The accommodation saga, coupled with the initial concerns about inflation and the obvious fatigue issues surrounding 24 layovers on ULR flights is… crazy. I now know that I have significantly increased my chances of enjoying retirement for a number of years instead of burning out or being burnt out.
It is sad that Emirates could easily afford to look after it’s staff and still make loads of dosh, but I guess managers in the airline, like all airlines, have got to shine and prove their jobs worth…. at our expense !