Emirates (EK) Interview - all you need to know about it (threads merged)
Join Date: Nov 2003
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Beware of making a career decision based on ANYTHING you read on Pprune. My opinions of life at Emirates are approximately 180 degrees different from Pintofstella's. That doesn't mean he's not being honest, but rather he's simply expressing his opinion from his unique perspective. No one can make that judgement for you. And the only ablsolute, surefire way to do that is to come here and see it for yourself.
Good luck!
The Yardman
P.S. I'm just a lowly F/O with no aspirations whatsoever of going into management.
Good luck!
The Yardman
P.S. I'm just a lowly F/O with no aspirations whatsoever of going into management.
Join Date: Apr 2005
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Straight facts:
17-20 days working a month
A lot of flights (espically in the bottom bid groups) work at least 1 leg in the middle of the night.
Some flights or pairings work both legs in the middle of the night.
No credit for pay other than time spent on the airplane. There is one exception; if you do sim support you get 2 1/2 pay I believe. So having said that no pay for vacation.
No pay for sick time.
No pay for recurrent training.
Mangement that tells you are lucky to have a job.
Unless you are at one of those British charter companies stay where you are. Like the message before this said you must have read the previous posts. Yardman is probably from the aforementioned British charters and is happier than a 16 yr old in a whorehouse with a fist full of pounds. It must be said that he does not have a heathly sense of reality.
Say what you want about the content on pprune but there are very few lies told on this board.
17-20 days working a month
A lot of flights (espically in the bottom bid groups) work at least 1 leg in the middle of the night.
Some flights or pairings work both legs in the middle of the night.
No credit for pay other than time spent on the airplane. There is one exception; if you do sim support you get 2 1/2 pay I believe. So having said that no pay for vacation.
No pay for sick time.
No pay for recurrent training.
Mangement that tells you are lucky to have a job.
Unless you are at one of those British charter companies stay where you are. Like the message before this said you must have read the previous posts. Yardman is probably from the aforementioned British charters and is happier than a 16 yr old in a whorehouse with a fist full of pounds. It must be said that he does not have a heathly sense of reality.
Say what you want about the content on pprune but there are very few lies told on this board.
Join Date: Sep 2005
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I am one of the many who have left EK in the last year and I have to say I don't regret leaving at all.
I feel about fifteen years younger, my health has improved and I am now beginning to see how much of my home life I couldn't take part in due to fatigue.
As many before have said you need to be absolutely sure EK is for you as it will cost you a lot of money to set up in Dubai and, if you decide it's not for you, it's very difficult to extricate yourself (and family).
If I'd known what lay behind the gloss and PR machine, prior to signing on the line, there is no way I would ever have gone out to Dubai.
I feel about fifteen years younger, my health has improved and I am now beginning to see how much of my home life I couldn't take part in due to fatigue.
As many before have said you need to be absolutely sure EK is for you as it will cost you a lot of money to set up in Dubai and, if you decide it's not for you, it's very difficult to extricate yourself (and family).
If I'd known what lay behind the gloss and PR machine, prior to signing on the line, there is no way I would ever have gone out to Dubai.
Join Date: Feb 2005
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Pint of Stella may have been a bit emotional, but taking everything at face value, life here is pretty cr@p so in that respect I guess he is right.
I am far too busy for the money paid to me, I do not get enough remuneration for the constant upheaval to family life. No stability in where I live, I am constantly worried about whether my villa complex will be the next one to raise its rents and then Emirates to say to me leave for another villa (at my own expense!) or pay the difference. I get fed up with my managers telling us if you don't like it here then leave. I get no encouragement or thanks for a job well done, but I called into the office when things go wrong, even when I have been in the right. There's lots and lots of things that could be mentioned but what the person before said is true, that there are very few lies on here.
Despite only a few people saying things here, remember also that there are a huge number of pilots here who are unhappy, but very afraid to say something here because they fear that they could be traced. The ones that are happy, are not here for very long before they see that Dubai is just like any other false city like Las Vegas or somewhere like that.
The pilots are changing here, not many from the western world are joining and thats fine, but I really enjoyed flying with mates who share a common sense of humour and enjoy a few bevs after the duty.
Just like every one I talk to, I wish I knew what I was letting myself in for before I signed. My advice for what it is worth? Get a half decent job in your home country, working as an expat just is not what it is cracked up to be. The big money jobs and the great lifestyle are well gone. And they were the only reason any body became an expatriate.
It comes down to the two buckets story, the one where on arrival you get issued two buckets. One for money, the other for sh1t. When one is full, you leave. But I know no one who has left in the last two years with his bucket full of cash.
Good luck in your decision, but remember that the Emirates PR machine is a powerful force. If something looks too good to be true, it probably is.
I am far too busy for the money paid to me, I do not get enough remuneration for the constant upheaval to family life. No stability in where I live, I am constantly worried about whether my villa complex will be the next one to raise its rents and then Emirates to say to me leave for another villa (at my own expense!) or pay the difference. I get fed up with my managers telling us if you don't like it here then leave. I get no encouragement or thanks for a job well done, but I called into the office when things go wrong, even when I have been in the right. There's lots and lots of things that could be mentioned but what the person before said is true, that there are very few lies on here.
Despite only a few people saying things here, remember also that there are a huge number of pilots here who are unhappy, but very afraid to say something here because they fear that they could be traced. The ones that are happy, are not here for very long before they see that Dubai is just like any other false city like Las Vegas or somewhere like that.
The pilots are changing here, not many from the western world are joining and thats fine, but I really enjoyed flying with mates who share a common sense of humour and enjoy a few bevs after the duty.
Just like every one I talk to, I wish I knew what I was letting myself in for before I signed. My advice for what it is worth? Get a half decent job in your home country, working as an expat just is not what it is cracked up to be. The big money jobs and the great lifestyle are well gone. And they were the only reason any body became an expatriate.
It comes down to the two buckets story, the one where on arrival you get issued two buckets. One for money, the other for sh1t. When one is full, you leave. But I know no one who has left in the last two years with his bucket full of cash.
Good luck in your decision, but remember that the Emirates PR machine is a powerful force. If something looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Dubai - sand land.
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Well LHR rain, you join a long haul airline that flies all over the world, based at an airport that doesn't have a curfew - what do you expect you dim ****??? Day flights only?? God, idiots like you should have tried researching the company before you signed on the dotted line old bean
Oh yeah, I didn't come from a british charter company, nor am I a 16 yr old virgin in a whorehouse - nor, shall I add, am I loooking for a management position etc etc etc........................
Not to say there aren't big problems in a few areas, but the way things are going with the market drying up - anyones guess
Oh yeah, I didn't come from a british charter company, nor am I a 16 yr old virgin in a whorehouse - nor, shall I add, am I loooking for a management position etc etc etc........................
Not to say there aren't big problems in a few areas, but the way things are going with the market drying up - anyones guess
Join Date: Aug 2005
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Man, you must have a picture of life in dxb if you read ALL the posts.
Yesterdays' 7 days news paper have some stats:
Every 15 hours a person dies on dxb roads.
There are only 1.2-1.5 mil living here. (2 different sources)
You work out the odds ........ scary.
You will save jack s##t on FO salary.
As line capt. minimal saving.
Do not look at tax free salary copared to your home country.
This place is seriously expencive.
One guy says 16-20 duty days per month.
My personal roster has 84 OFF DAYS since January, TOTAL!!!
You will work man, work like a dog.
You will be intimidated by a management that rules with FEAR.
You step out of line, they could punish you with loss of pay rise for a year. If you plan to stay 20 odd years, that could add up to roughly 250000Dhs (+/- 70000 $ US) for flying 25 knots fast on final, or a similar offence.
Good luck with your important decision.
See you at the Singapore interview.
Yesterdays' 7 days news paper have some stats:
Every 15 hours a person dies on dxb roads.
There are only 1.2-1.5 mil living here. (2 different sources)
You work out the odds ........ scary.
You will save jack s##t on FO salary.
As line capt. minimal saving.
Do not look at tax free salary copared to your home country.
This place is seriously expencive.
One guy says 16-20 duty days per month.
My personal roster has 84 OFF DAYS since January, TOTAL!!!
You will work man, work like a dog.
You will be intimidated by a management that rules with FEAR.
You step out of line, they could punish you with loss of pay rise for a year. If you plan to stay 20 odd years, that could add up to roughly 250000Dhs (+/- 70000 $ US) for flying 25 knots fast on final, or a similar offence.
Good luck with your important decision.
See you at the Singapore interview.
Join Date: Apr 2005
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White Knight might not be any of the above metioned categories but he is probably on drugs. Why when someone (like myself) states the facts he is jumped upon by the delusional part of the EK wing?
You are right WK about something you said in your post. With the overseas markets OPENING up it won't be long for most of us to escape.
Please don't tell me or anyone else if I don't like it to leave. That is the style of middle eastern mangement but it just does not fly in the real world.
You are right WK about something you said in your post. With the overseas markets OPENING up it won't be long for most of us to escape.
Please don't tell me or anyone else if I don't like it to leave. That is the style of middle eastern mangement but it just does not fly in the real world.
Join Date: Nov 2001
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Some of us are happy, but then it's all relative isn't it ?
I come from a country where the career prospects are horrible and an airline that has halved it's fleet in 4 years, where I'd taken a 50% pay cut and lost a $600,000 pension. Where I'd be lucky to see captain in another 13 years, if ever.
EK isn't perfect, but it's damn sight better than my alternatives.
WK's glass is half full and so is mine, obviously yours isn't.
TP
P.S. Including leave, 168 days off so far this year. Your mileage may vary.
I come from a country where the career prospects are horrible and an airline that has halved it's fleet in 4 years, where I'd taken a 50% pay cut and lost a $600,000 pension. Where I'd be lucky to see captain in another 13 years, if ever.
EK isn't perfect, but it's damn sight better than my alternatives.
WK's glass is half full and so is mine, obviously yours isn't.
TP
P.S. Including leave, 168 days off so far this year. Your mileage may vary.
Join Date: Feb 2004
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Do you want to be exploited?
Then you should come here.
We are asked to fill in ASR's when something has gone wrong on a flight so that others can learn from it. Ask our North American DEC who had a take-off incident ( ...and it wasn't an incident actually as he passed the fence at 50 feet) what he thinks of our safety reporting system. He is still suspended after at least two months, unlike his local F/O who clearly was a part of the problem.
Typhoonpilot talks about losing 50% of his salary, well we have lost a lot more than that in terms of disposable income reduced by inflation. Also, how can you compare a sick North American Airline that loses heaps of money with Emirates that is making money head over heels? The sad thing is that EK makes money on the back of their employees.
26 hours layover in JFK after a 14 hour nightflight direct from Dubai, then the quick return sector @ 12hrs50 also through the night. Optimum fatigue management we have been told by our ex BA boss. Does BA operate this way? No way in heaven they do!!!
I have not had more than 8 days off per month this year (except september when I had 9, but that's a legality).
10-15 hours of over time rostered every month. Not voluntary overtime.
I would not listen too much to anyone who has been here less than 4 years. The honeymoon is quite long. And the first years lead up to a command on a shiny new jet, and that tends to scramble one's view quite badly.
Friends of mine that have lived in their villas for 7 years have been given 10 days to move out. How do you think the families feel? What do you say to your kids?
But then again, if we do not like it we can leave. In this culture it is not suitable to try and improve anything by making suggestions.
See you at the SQ interview!
PAB
We are asked to fill in ASR's when something has gone wrong on a flight so that others can learn from it. Ask our North American DEC who had a take-off incident ( ...and it wasn't an incident actually as he passed the fence at 50 feet) what he thinks of our safety reporting system. He is still suspended after at least two months, unlike his local F/O who clearly was a part of the problem.
Typhoonpilot talks about losing 50% of his salary, well we have lost a lot more than that in terms of disposable income reduced by inflation. Also, how can you compare a sick North American Airline that loses heaps of money with Emirates that is making money head over heels? The sad thing is that EK makes money on the back of their employees.
26 hours layover in JFK after a 14 hour nightflight direct from Dubai, then the quick return sector @ 12hrs50 also through the night. Optimum fatigue management we have been told by our ex BA boss. Does BA operate this way? No way in heaven they do!!!
I have not had more than 8 days off per month this year (except september when I had 9, but that's a legality).
10-15 hours of over time rostered every month. Not voluntary overtime.
I would not listen too much to anyone who has been here less than 4 years. The honeymoon is quite long. And the first years lead up to a command on a shiny new jet, and that tends to scramble one's view quite badly.
Friends of mine that have lived in their villas for 7 years have been given 10 days to move out. How do you think the families feel? What do you say to your kids?
But then again, if we do not like it we can leave. In this culture it is not suitable to try and improve anything by making suggestions.
See you at the SQ interview!
PAB
Porknbrew Too true. But you will find the 777 DEC has been re-instated. He made a formal appeal as per the company procs, and it went all the way to the top.
How long he wants to stay and what he thinks of the "culture" is anyones guess.
I think many of our Norte Americano friends have a skewed view of things here (not all). Their majors are in such a bad mess its skews their view of the job market. EK MAKES stacks of cash, fact!
EGGW.
How long he wants to stay and what he thinks of the "culture" is anyones guess.
I think many of our Norte Americano friends have a skewed view of things here (not all). Their majors are in such a bad mess its skews their view of the job market. EK MAKES stacks of cash, fact!
EGGW.
EK
hh60drvr,
I guess you should be asking yourself if taking a job with EK is a step forward.......
If you are coming from Pakistan Airline, Bangladesh airlines, Yemem Airlines....etc.... it is definetly a step foward, if you are in Europe working for BA, Virgin, Easyjet and even Ryanair it might not be a good idea to leave your job!!!!!!
Good luck!
I guess you should be asking yourself if taking a job with EK is a step forward.......
If you are coming from Pakistan Airline, Bangladesh airlines, Yemem Airlines....etc.... it is definetly a step foward, if you are in Europe working for BA, Virgin, Easyjet and even Ryanair it might not be a good idea to leave your job!!!!!!
Good luck!
Join Date: Apr 2005
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Please don't compare US Air to EK. US Air was very extended for a long time and a little out of their league. EK has slave labour with very little fuel costs. Typhoon you might still be happy but you are essentially a DEC (who probably deserved it by the way) that did not have to live on a FO salary for long and in your mind you are still comparing what US Air has now (nothing) to what EK has now (a lot). AA, BA, CX are still very far out in front of us. Your mileage might very well indeed vary.
Join Date: Oct 2005
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@ 74WORLD.....
After reading all of ur guys posts I dont think so leaving Pakistan International Airline and joining Emirates Will be a FWD Step.PIA do take goood Care of its Pilots and big majority of them are satisfied from their Jobs and i m one of them....
After reading all of ur guys posts I dont think so leaving Pakistan International Airline and joining Emirates Will be a FWD Step.PIA do take goood Care of its Pilots and big majority of them are satisfied from their Jobs and i m one of them
....
PIA
Join Date: Jul 2000
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LHR rain - never used anything that's illegal old chap Apologies if you think I jumped down your throat, but I do think there are two sides to every story!!!
A lot of things at EK are not what they seem, we'll see soon as I think the proverbial's going to hit the fan..............................
Apologies if you think I jumped down your throat, but I do think there are two sides to every story!!!A lot of things at EK are not what they seem, we'll see soon as I think the proverbial's going to hit the fan..............................
Join Date: Jan 2002
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RAM77,
You really reckon it is not a step forward.
I have so far seen EX SAA,BA,CX,SQ,Air Canada, United, Delta, Alitalia and the list goes on as a step forward for them. Now don't tell me that you guys enjoy a better reputation than the few names above.LOL.
Anyone making a career decision on the basis of what we write here is a real winner(Sarcasm). Aviation will never be a bed of roses again ( Remember Economics 101), and there is no grass in Middle-east. So no comparison to any part of the world. If all the folks were really that disgruntled than I would see a mass exodus. If this is a trick to distract guys from coming here than it may not work as Qatar would be on top of the exit list. They are still getting pilots from our part of the world and in truck loads. And for many of them Ek was the first choice.
Anyways I may have stepped on the wrong note here.
Later
A757
You really reckon it is not a step forward.
I have so far seen EX SAA,BA,CX,SQ,Air Canada, United, Delta, Alitalia and the list goes on as a step forward for them. Now don't tell me that you guys enjoy a better reputation than the few names above.LOL.
Anyone making a career decision on the basis of what we write here is a real winner(Sarcasm). Aviation will never be a bed of roses again ( Remember Economics 101), and there is no grass in Middle-east. So no comparison to any part of the world. If all the folks were really that disgruntled than I would see a mass exodus. If this is a trick to distract guys from coming here than it may not work as Qatar would be on top of the exit list. They are still getting pilots from our part of the world and in truck loads. And for many of them Ek was the first choice.
Anyways I may have stepped on the wrong note here.
Later
A757
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@AVIATOR777....
Well It depends upon person to person,I m 21 flying for my national airline n i believe that there could be nothing better then that for me,It all depends upon whether one is satisfied wid his job or not,N i beleve its nothing better to live in ur own country...Leaving BA,United,CX,SAA,AC,Delta for Emirates is definately a backward step,No Doubt abt that
Well It depends upon person to person,I m 21 flying for my national airline n i believe that there could be nothing better then that for me,It all depends upon whether one is satisfied wid his job or not,N i beleve its nothing better to live in ur own country...Leaving BA,United,CX,SAA,AC,Delta for Emirates is definately a backward step,No Doubt abt that
Join Date: Jul 2000
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EH -- Just seems to me that we're already short of pilots, now with extra routes and extra aeroplanes Crewing are already struggling to keep things moving, it's going to get worse..
Crewing are already struggling to keep things moving, it's going to get worse..