Hi guys, I'm considering to apply for Emirates. But reading all of this posts.... makes me think at least. .. Is anyone happy there? Is anyone enjoying it? How many flights per months? Hours?
Can someone post a typical EK roster?
I'm flying for 11 years on TAP Portugal. I earn around 5500€ as Cpt. Sure we have a union here, "rights" and etc... and there's no place like home, but pilots are stabbing each other on the back, we are our own worst enemy. Portugal is sinking, politicians here are just a bunch of crooks, retirement... whats that?!?? Social security?! never heard about it. Saving money? How?! Shall I take my kids out of private school and put them on the decaying public school system? I pay here the same amount EK offers for education.
I pay taxes as a german and I get south american, schools, roads, hospitals.
I understand that british, australians, and guys from other "first world" countries with strong economies, well fare, etc etc, complain about UAE and EK. Believe me if I was flying for LH or BA I wouldn't apply for EK. Is it the worst place to work? Is it better to work for Ryanair? (sarcasm)
Is it good anywhere?
Thanks

The guy who started this thread is complaining about not being able to fly in his PJs. If this is a big problem in your current airline my bet it´s a pretty problem free airline...
But if you have problem with huge losses, downsizing, pay cuts etc... ie REAL problems then EK just might be the place for you...
Maybe not the same person but the same people, it´s called STATE OWNED AIRLINES:ugh:

I think you will find that many international carriers fromt he middle east do the same thing. my husband works for BA and he works over 100 hours flying a month unfortunately totalling 110 hours flying time and thats not counting his standby days.

The fact is if you choose to fly you must be ready to handle this type of life it isnt easy for anyone and all airlines are the same internationally like this..

Mate, you can read these threads until the cows come home, but you really will not know if you will enjoy unless it in the ME you have some direct contact with people who work and fly in the region.

Many pilots here enjoy work and like the life. Many don't. Anecdotally, I would say the former in the majority, but nobody can really say they know for sure. But whatever you do, do not use pprune to make a decision, it is a distorted representation of reality. I suggest you form an open minded opinion then go for the assessment and meet as many guys there as you can.

Sciolistes,
You are absolutely right. That's what I'm trying to do, to gather information more accurate as possible... many questions remain.
Thanks

SI,

I think Mrs BA was refering to Baaaa-rain Air, not the BA of the Nigel variety.

What is the stick hour limit per year?:confused:
At my airline it is 900 hours longhaul and 1000 hours shorthaul with some pilots in the past pushing those limits.:bored:

Tank,

900. BUT hours spent in the bunk as Augmenting crew (not operating crew) don't count. This can push it up to or even past the 1000.

I don't believe that Bahrain Air has this bunking issue?

If you change the word " Emirates" with " Qatar Airways" the content match perfectly as well......:mad:

Averaging 65 hours per month on 330.

Food for thought :ok:

Thanks for the hint, Journeyman, and sorry about disturbing your cozyness.

My post was written because I get more and more requests to elaborate on why I left. It is therefore adressed mainly to people who are about to join but feel that there must be something fishy about it. And rightly so!

I should therefore have left out the last lines of advice to the guys who are still there - they won't admit to the facts until they will decide to leave. You will decide on your own - fair enough. :ok:

And sorry, I cannot let go because my child still badly suffers - probably for the rest of her life - from my egoistic decision to uproot my family :ouch: and to force it to live in a country where (beside the exposure to all toxins which officially don't exist) we had to betray all the values we believe in, and which actually are not negotiable!

You know how it is: they are cunning, you are cunning. They call it mutual respect, which is not mutual at all since you have to respect them, while their faith-related OM-A al kareem entitles them to treat you, al kafreen, like sh#T - unpunished. If you have any doubts about that, get a copy at Magrudys (maktoob yaani, so please don't call me enemy of I.), or listen to the loudspeaker on Friday, if you understand the language.

It was good fun (to a certain extent) to fly the big birds - but @ what price :confused: In my case the health of my child :uhoh:

Enjoy everybody!

Varmint, yes there was a specific diagnosis. I won't bore you with the details, but if you are interested, google cross-reaction/ immunology. There are some really nasty bugs around., coming into the country by workers entering illegally who thus duck health-control.

And these air-conditioning systems are perfect for evenly spreading anything.

You are right though that other places might not be any better, as I stated in my first post.

In this case, however, it definitely was Dubai. The Gulf is unique in that you need air-cond for at least one third, if not three quarters of the year - in your house, your car, your favourite shopping mall. Other funny places on earth just have the good old ceiling-fans which I would defintely prefer.

If you google the scientific names of mould which I mentioned earlier in this thread you will find symptoms which are in line with what people are complaining about all the time, starting with cronic fatigue. Maybe the management-guys and their fatigue-computer-models are right: it's not the tough rosters but the exposure to toxins which deprieve you of all the energy you had back home.

What makes me really sick, tough, is the fact, that I hear more and more about colleagues who have serious health problems in their families - from mould growing in their sinuses to intestine-cancer. :yuk:

Again: could happen anywhere.

Good answer
 

It's just a goof answer :D
Some people are never satisfied

Good post but too late....
 

Dear collegue Thexman,

We all know you are mostly right. Why it took you give years to write down this post...?:=
After 10 months you could easily realiced it....
Some people is even clever and know whats going on over all those countries,not just in business aviation,before star thinking into joining the sandpit...;)

Gracie mile for your advise!

Safe flights!:)

Its all a matter of how did your lifestyle has changed after moving to the sandpit. If it did to the better then its all good:). If however it didn't, then everything will matter, small unimportant things will look frustrating, and life along with work becomes unbearable. And then it is decision time, a bit more difficult this time, compared to decisions from our proffesion. Others put up with it, others can not. And definetely there is not right or wrong here. What the heart tells must be done, and stick with that decision with no regrets.

The EK EXPERIENCE
 

I am going to be writing about the EK work experience and living in Dubai soon. It will not be about the stuff you expect, but rather much deeper look at what is going on and why it happens and the driving forces behind it.

Well from what I've read and learnt from speaking to friends in EK, I'm glad I withdrew my application. Just from a far I know people who are leaving or want out of EK.

Ahhhhhhh, thats the way to deal with stupidity :ok:

I got a job today. At the Serbian airport Nikola Tesla. Well, it's not a job, but rather a training of two months. They advertised it as a job, though. They also asked for highly qualified people (faculty, master), grade average above 8.5 (out of 10. mine is 9,5). They gave me 200 euros salary and a job of a security at the gates (they never said what the job was until they called the chosen ones for the meeting). And we have to provide our own uniforms. :} Seems they've learned a lot from their eastern friends.


Ok, Serbia is a banana country and I am broke. Still, I've refused the job. Nobody will appreciate you if you don't appreciate yourself. The irony of the whole story is that that airport is called by the scientist who would remain poor, unknown bloke, if he hadn't fled to USA. A disgrace for that great name.


After reading this whole thread, I have two messages:

If you don't have experience on some subject, don't talk about it (that much). It's rude and offensive.

And I already wrote the second one:

If you don't appreciate yourselves, nobody will.