Question for American EK pilots
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Question for American EK pilots
Couple of quick questions -
Do US airlines have access to our records at EK? I haven't had any issues, but at EK it seems like it's just a matter of time unfortunately.
Also, how are we supposed to deal with the 3 month notice period when leaving? It seems like any US carrier would laugh at me when, during the interview, I say I would be available in 3 months.
Thanks for any input!
Do US airlines have access to our records at EK? I haven't had any issues, but at EK it seems like it's just a matter of time unfortunately.
Also, how are we supposed to deal with the 3 month notice period when leaving? It seems like any US carrier would laugh at me when, during the interview, I say I would be available in 3 months.
Thanks for any input!
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I am fairly confident that active duty military applicants are not laughted at when they state that thier seperation date is well in the future. Doesn't seem to hurt thier chances of getting an offer either.
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Also, how are we supposed to deal with the 3 month notice period when leaving? It seems like any US carrier would laugh at me when, during the interview, I say I would be available in 3 months.
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Junior Man
As a pilot who has worked at a US legecy and at EK there really is not a comparison between the two. Any of the Big 4 airlines is leaps and bounds better than Emirates in every capacity and catergory.
I don't know what airline you worked at but my former airline has over 4000 pilots retiring in the next 10 years. If you join now you will be a widebody captain in less than 15 years and a narrowbody captain sooner than that.
Just because you got hired at the wrong time does not mean everyone else will have the same career as you did.
Plus why do you think Emirates is such a good airline to work for? When you factor in everything Emirates is no better than a commuter airline back home to work for. My hourly wage at EK is the same as a 737 FO back home.
If you are at Emirates and have the right to work in the US do not delay in trying to get back home. You have to get back as soon as you can.
Dubai is going down hill, Emirates is definitely going down hill, and if you are on the Boeing the 777 is going down hill as well. Why stay at Emirates?
If you are on the 330 I have no idea why you are still here.
As a pilot who has worked at a US legecy and at EK there really is not a comparison between the two. Any of the Big 4 airlines is leaps and bounds better than Emirates in every capacity and catergory.
I don't know what airline you worked at but my former airline has over 4000 pilots retiring in the next 10 years. If you join now you will be a widebody captain in less than 15 years and a narrowbody captain sooner than that.
Just because you got hired at the wrong time does not mean everyone else will have the same career as you did.
Plus why do you think Emirates is such a good airline to work for? When you factor in everything Emirates is no better than a commuter airline back home to work for. My hourly wage at EK is the same as a 737 FO back home.
If you are at Emirates and have the right to work in the US do not delay in trying to get back home. You have to get back as soon as you can.
Dubai is going down hill, Emirates is definitely going down hill, and if you are on the Boeing the 777 is going down hill as well. Why stay at Emirates?
If you are on the 330 I have no idea why you are still here.
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Another question for all:
How many active Emirates pilots have been hired by US airlines in the last year? There's been an enormous amount of talk about retirements, hiring etc. but a suspicious lack of detail. I'm also not including guys who were quietly on furlough and just returned to their old jobs. I'm interested in the number of new hires. Anyone personally know one? I have a suspicion the number is very, very low. Single digits, maybe? I do know it's not due lack of trying- almost every American I know has applications in.
How many active Emirates pilots have been hired by US airlines in the last year? There's been an enormous amount of talk about retirements, hiring etc. but a suspicious lack of detail. I'm also not including guys who were quietly on furlough and just returned to their old jobs. I'm interested in the number of new hires. Anyone personally know one? I have a suspicion the number is very, very low. Single digits, maybe? I do know it's not due lack of trying- almost every American I know has applications in.
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gl69,
leaps and bounds better than Emirates in every category? I think that's a bit of a stretch. They both have their positives and negatives. Off the top of my head I can think of several categories where EK exceeds the US carriers.
-Hotel quality
-Variety of destinations
-Cabin Crew
-Time to command
-Onboard product/service
But the pay vs cost of living in Dubai, not to mention the lack of job protections, might make a US legacy a better option.
leaps and bounds better than Emirates in every category? I think that's a bit of a stretch. They both have their positives and negatives. Off the top of my head I can think of several categories where EK exceeds the US carriers.
-Hotel quality
-Variety of destinations
-Cabin Crew
-Time to command
-Onboard product/service
But the pay vs cost of living in Dubai, not to mention the lack of job protections, might make a US legacy a better option.
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I'm aware of three EK pilots who have been hired off the street to US legacies. One went to DL, one to UA, one to UsAir. I'm in contact with the DL guy who was under the impression that he was a bit of guinea pig for the Middle East guys. I agree with TineeTim- lots of Yanks with applications at US carriers but not much seems to be happening. I suspect we all might be a little bit threatening to the hiring process or maybe not as special as we'd like to think we are.....
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Laker
Again as with junior man I don't know what airline you worked for in the states but let me address your items;
Hotels
They were about the same quality but in far better locations with my old airline. We stayed downtown in Europe, on the Med in Tel Aviv, on the Nile in Cario and great places in the US. With Emirates the hotels might be 4 or 5 stars but we stay at the airports in many European locations or in lousy places of various cities.
Destinations.
Yes Emirates goes to more countries but too many of those destinations are of the 3rd world variety which doesn't really get me excited or feel safe at times.
Cabin crew
Depends on how you define them or what your desires are. If you want a steady stream of unlimited pu&@y yes EK is the place for you. If you want compentancy and people with common sense Emirates is not the place where you want to be. Especially when a lot of the Aussies, NZ, UK and Irish crew have left or haven't joined in numbers near what they the 3rd world people have.
Time to Command
This is about the same now believe it or not. If you join Emirates now you are looking at 10 years to command. As I said earlier with all the retirements at my old airline you are looking at the same time maybe even less and I know the Big 4 have the same time frames. Maybe SW might be the exception but the other 3, join now and you will be a captain in a decade.
On board service
I don't know how this effects pilots or their lifestyles but yes Emirates does have a much better on board service. When we talk about International the US airlines are not that far behind Emirates but again EK does have a better on board service.
My old airline has over 200 Emirates pilots that have applied back home. Not all of them will get hired or even leave but that is a significance number of unhappy pilots. So far only 9 Emirates pilots have joined the largest airline in the world but they just started hiring again in Feb.
Also remember a lot of US pilots at EK can't get hired back home. One pilot beat his wife and has an assault charge, another one I know of isn't paying child support and can never go back to the US and many pilots don't have university degrees which all of the good airlines require.
When you consider unions, ATC, FAA and various other protections a pilot is far better off in the US or even Europe.
Again as with junior man I don't know what airline you worked for in the states but let me address your items;
Hotels
They were about the same quality but in far better locations with my old airline. We stayed downtown in Europe, on the Med in Tel Aviv, on the Nile in Cario and great places in the US. With Emirates the hotels might be 4 or 5 stars but we stay at the airports in many European locations or in lousy places of various cities.
Destinations.
Yes Emirates goes to more countries but too many of those destinations are of the 3rd world variety which doesn't really get me excited or feel safe at times.
Cabin crew
Depends on how you define them or what your desires are. If you want a steady stream of unlimited pu&@y yes EK is the place for you. If you want compentancy and people with common sense Emirates is not the place where you want to be. Especially when a lot of the Aussies, NZ, UK and Irish crew have left or haven't joined in numbers near what they the 3rd world people have.
Time to Command
This is about the same now believe it or not. If you join Emirates now you are looking at 10 years to command. As I said earlier with all the retirements at my old airline you are looking at the same time maybe even less and I know the Big 4 have the same time frames. Maybe SW might be the exception but the other 3, join now and you will be a captain in a decade.
On board service
I don't know how this effects pilots or their lifestyles but yes Emirates does have a much better on board service. When we talk about International the US airlines are not that far behind Emirates but again EK does have a better on board service.
My old airline has over 200 Emirates pilots that have applied back home. Not all of them will get hired or even leave but that is a significance number of unhappy pilots. So far only 9 Emirates pilots have joined the largest airline in the world but they just started hiring again in Feb.
Also remember a lot of US pilots at EK can't get hired back home. One pilot beat his wife and has an assault charge, another one I know of isn't paying child support and can never go back to the US and many pilots don't have university degrees which all of the good airlines require.
When you consider unions, ATC, FAA and various other protections a pilot is far better off in the US or even Europe.
Last edited by gl69; 28th Jul 2014 at 10:50. Reason: Content added
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So do they stay on the Airbus 330 to avoid flights to America?
Last edited by JammedStab; 30th Jul 2014 at 14:35.
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another one I know of isn't paying child support and can never go back to the US
hope he has a new passport, because he won't be getting another one, or extra pages, or any other passport services until he pays up...
hope he has a new passport, because he won't be getting another one, or extra pages, or any other passport services until he pays up...
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Dual citizenship
Could have two passports?
There are things he could do to assure his money actually goes to his kids instead of his ex-wife's new boyfriend's boat.
Trust funds, escrows, etc… Giving your ex a court ordered blank check every month is never spent on the kiddies.
A lot better option than hiding out in Dubai until your passport expires. Then what is your end game?
DNA tests maybe? Those kiddies could be any bloke's in Silicon.
There are things he could do to assure his money actually goes to his kids instead of his ex-wife's new boyfriend's boat.
Trust funds, escrows, etc… Giving your ex a court ordered blank check every month is never spent on the kiddies.
A lot better option than hiding out in Dubai until your passport expires. Then what is your end game?
DNA tests maybe? Those kiddies could be any bloke's in Silicon.
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I don't know what airline you worked at but my former airline has over 4000 pilots retiring in the next 10 years. If you join now you will be a widebody captain in less than 15 years and a narrowbody captain sooner than that.
The only reason I am focusing on the WB CA position is because that is where the highest pay and best schedules that are so often quoted on PPRUNE exist. I would mostly base career decisions on total compensation, schedules, financial stability and growth prospects of the airline, and probably time to command because that will affect your total compensation. Emirates hands down beats all US legacy carriers in these four areas. The only reason to come to a US legacy is if you really need or want to be back home. Even that comes with a caveat because chances are slim that you'll be based where you would like to reside. Commuting can completely destroy your schedule and quality of life. Some of our most sought after domiciles are extremely senior. It would take years just to hold a reserve NB FO position.
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I'd argue that a senior NB FO or line holder WB FO at a USA legacy is almost equal to an EK commander, especially if you are comparing it to an EK A330 driver. You'd be senior enough to control your schedule and destinations, all day flying for the NB FO, 18-19 days of for the WB FO. No factoring of time, infact you should end up being paid for more time then you actually block. No doubt you'll have better travel benefits also.
If you block at the bottom line, an EK 777/380 captain may bank more, but a WB FO wouldn't be too far behind considering cost of living, taxes (USA pilots still pay tax working at EK), and QQL.
Lastly, the outlook for the next ten years is very positive in the USA, as in things are trending better. We know what the trend has been at EK since 2008 , and we can take a guess at what the trend will be going forward.
If you block at the bottom line, an EK 777/380 captain may bank more, but a WB FO wouldn't be too far behind considering cost of living, taxes (USA pilots still pay tax working at EK), and QQL.
Lastly, the outlook for the next ten years is very positive in the USA, as in things are trending better. We know what the trend has been at EK since 2008 , and we can take a guess at what the trend will be going forward.
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That's because not every American is working for Delta, United, or American.
I'm sure the new five year bond is an acknowledgement that an American who does come to EK would be very competitive at a legacy airline very quickly. Companies with great conditions don't increase the length of their bond.
No Americans are leaving a legacy airline in the USA to come to EK.
I'm sure the new five year bond is an acknowledgement that an American who does come to EK would be very competitive at a legacy airline very quickly. Companies with great conditions don't increase the length of their bond.
No Americans are leaving a legacy airline in the USA to come to EK.
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Americans are still going to work overseas because there is a major downsizing of the regional jet fleets in the US. Most 37-50 seat jets are being parked and not all of them are being replaced. Scope has been relaxed at almost all the majors to allow CRJ-900 size aircraft to be outsourced, however there are limits on how many frames can be operated. DL is one particular legacy that has language requiring the removal of 50 seaters over a period of time. UA has similar language as well. So, even with almost every major or national airline in the US hiring at the moment there is still not enough jobs for all the RJ pilots who are watching their fleets shrink. That leaves the regional drivers with two choices: watch their company shrink and career stagnate or look for opportunities overseas as not everyone will win the lottery at the majors.
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If you look at the seniority list at EK you will notice that there hasn't been a lot of Americans join in the last year or so and plenty of Americans have left in the last 12 months with hopefully many more leaving. Recruitment and HR even admitted that problem in the recent wash ups.
So Fatbus your comment is way off base. If you did realize the difference between the two systems you would be trying to fly for a US major too.
If Junior Man thinks Emirates is so good he should know that EK is currently hiring. I doubt very much we will see his name on the applicants list or he leaving his cushy position at a US major.
In a previous post I mentioned that some US pilots won't be leaving for various problems they have but I forgot the list that I know of 3 EK pilots that have DUIs and for that reason alone won't be hired by any US major. Makes people think that these pilots can't get hired at a US major but can get hired at Emirates. Umm!
Also no good airline has a Training Bond. If you are a good airline you know no pilot will leave the airline.
So Fatbus your comment is way off base. If you did realize the difference between the two systems you would be trying to fly for a US major too.
If Junior Man thinks Emirates is so good he should know that EK is currently hiring. I doubt very much we will see his name on the applicants list or he leaving his cushy position at a US major.
In a previous post I mentioned that some US pilots won't be leaving for various problems they have but I forgot the list that I know of 3 EK pilots that have DUIs and for that reason alone won't be hired by any US major. Makes people think that these pilots can't get hired at a US major but can get hired at Emirates. Umm!
Also no good airline has a Training Bond. If you are a good airline you know no pilot will leave the airline.
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Americans are still going to work overseas because there is a major downsizing of the regional jet fleets in the US. Most 37-50 seat jets are being parked and not all of them are being replaced. Scope has been relaxed at almost all the majors to allow CRJ-900 size aircraft to be outsourced, however there are limits on how many frames can be operated. DL is one particular legacy that has language requiring the removal of 50 seaters over a period of time. UA has similar language as well. So, even with almost every major or national airline in the US hiring at the moment there is still not enough jobs for all the RJ pilots who are watching their fleets shrink. That leaves the regional drivers with two choices: watch their company shrink and career stagnate or look for opportunities overseas as not everyone will win the lottery at the majors.
(10char)