Does anyone have anything positive to say about EK?
 

Euro LCC FO approaching command and considering move.

I have a few concerns and would be grateful if people in the know could answer a few questions.....

Leave - I know Im not going to get the 42 days, but will I be able to get a few blocks off to give me the chance to get away with the family? Can you sell the days back to the company, or will they keep rolling over until they are eventually lost?

School Fee's - is it really going to cost me roughly a months wages per child per year to top up the allowance and pay transport, food etc?

Command - with the amount of guys coming and leaving, expansion, and the lack of DEC's getting in, it looks like the seniority number will go up pretty quick. What's a realistic time to command?

Travel - Load factors are high and I hear it can be a problem using id90's, is this the case or is staff travel still a perk worth considering? Is it straight forward enough to get family out to visit and not have to pay an arm and a leg?


At my current employer I pay for everything; licence, medical, sim, hotels, travel, uniform, food, water, coffee.
On the other hand I have a decent and predictable roster and generally know where I stand with the company.

On paper it looks like a good move, but as soon as you come on here and read the negatives it seems a crazy move.

There must be guys out there happy with their lot, pleased they made the move from the Euro LCC rot?
Surely it can't be that the Euro LCC's are becoming a desirable place to work?!

So back to the original question.... Does anyone have anything positive to say about EK?!

Many Thanks

Yes, I came from a similar European position as yourself but with a command, I looked at EK and decided on reflection to avoid it like the plague - one of the best of a few sensible career moves I've made in hindsight!

EK Management are positively liars.

You will positively have your contract changed to the negative.

You will positively not be able to take EK to court in the UAE as EK is not subject to the Legal System.

You positively will pay a months' salary to supplement each child's education. If you can get a place in their year group in a good school.

You will positively pay a fortune for groceries, particularly fresh fruit.

Please don't say that there are no positives at EK. There are plenty.

Sally you have asked these questions before, and they were answered for you. Perhaps you didn't like those answers. So here goes....

Come on over, the weather is great and the aircraft are shiny. There will be lashings of lemonade for everybody when the work day is over. The 2000 FOs on the seniority list, that will be in front of you, will part ways to ensure you upgrade quickly.

I do hope this helps.

I was once given oven mitts....They were quite nice actually.

I never got the mitts, for that and many other reasons I resigned, I wished I would have done it earlier

don, that's exactly what we want to hear from you guys :) Unfortunately pros seem to be largely insignificant compared to cons. All of you gave us enough good food for thought

Thanks for the responses guys...

Don - Trying to be as diligent as possible, unfortunately I don't know many people out there so have to use this as a means to gather as much info as possible.

I have asked questions, however didn't receive answers to a few of them.

Did you say Free lemonade?!

Yes there are plenty of positives, my little girl got a "positive" result whilst I was there to an exotic and supposedly eradicated lung disease thanks to the many many undocumented and untested individuals there.

Don't forget, we got to keep our old shiny wings when EK went with the poorly made, dull made in China ones.

That was due the sheer goodness and generosity of TCAS....yeah...those were the good ol' days :hmm:

I got to shorten my notice period, that was a positive! :ok:

Sally - I will try to answer them completely and honestly.

Leave - it is difficult to get blocks off during any of the school holidays since, surprise, they are popular dates. Peak leave (defined as July/Aug and Christmas Break) should be obtainable every second year. You will only get ONE of the 2 periods not both. So year 1 you will have no peak leave and possibly get a block over the kids school holiday (though don't count on it). Year 2, theoretically, you should be able to get summer or Christmas leave. For some reason, it does not always work and I know people who have gone 2 years or more without peak leave.

Personally, this is a HUGE pet peave of mine. We work like dogs and then can't even get time off to do even small family trips. When the kids are really young you can pull them out of school but beyond about the age of 9 or 10 that becomes impossible.

School Fees - most schools are in the 70,000 dhm/year range. You will pay 10% of the fee/child up to the max (which I believe is in the mid 60's at the moment) and then the entire amount beyond that. Children under 4 are not paid for at all which may be an issue in some schools where there are waiting lists and you lose your spot if waiting till age 5.

Transport is now rolled into school fees so if you schools fees are below the cap transport (bus from a certified company only) will be covered up to that cap.

SO, go look at the school fees online, check out EK's exact max coverage, and figure out how much you will pay extra for your family.

Command - if the captains leaving continues to increase they will find the DEC's they need or bring back the accelerated command. If you are an FO with no jet command I would count on not less than 7 years till command. We have just shy of 4000 pilots. That will need to double for you to upgrade!! Less any attrition. If you come here expecting less you may well be in for severe disappointment.

Travel-- like most airlines this benefit is up and down. First class and biz class travel is nice and I am appreciative of the fact that we can sometimes enjoy it!! If you can get the time off and the loads allow, traveling in a premium cabin with your family is a FANTASTIC perk.

Loads are high though during peak periods (school holidays) so you have to be prepared to pay full fare or get caught out. For family, if they are retired and can miss a few flights there should be no issue.

Unfortunately, with the lack of leave, lack of leave when I can use it and heavy loads we can't really vacation that much. One trip per year is all we can usually arrange. Or the odd weekend getaway.

You know the first year pay. You can easily calculate school costs based on your family. If you track your families expenditures now, especially food, you can online with your wife and looks at Spinnys, Carrefour or any of the online delivery companies and calculate your families food costs.

An FO takes home roughly 22,000 dhms/month when flying. A family of 4 food costs will be a minimum of 5000 dhms a month. School activities, sports etc are all extra costs and not cheap at all!! Set up costs after the move mean the first year will not save a penny. After that it will be very tight. Several friends who are FO's - one manages to save about 4000dms/month but they live within their means and are careful. The other all say they don't save anywhere near that.

It is all very personal. Seen many wives (and pilots to be fair) come here buy TWO new vehicles, big screen TV's etc. and start living the high life expat lifestyle. Reality sets in a year or two later when income just matches payments, there is no money being saved, no money for island getaways.....................

You have all the info you need to sit down with your wife and calculate your living costs here. Just do it carefully and be honest. Make sure you BOTH have the same expectations on the move here!! Heard a few wives comment that their husbands made them move here so they expected the 'nice' things in live to be fully provided.

Sally, Emirates will sell to you that you are coming to a glorious expat life style. Basically your not. You are coming to a life that is completely controlled by Emirates. Think about this before you make a move. What Emirates sell you at the recruitment interviews, and what the truth is, is very different.

Everyday,lots of positive climbs,gear up....

I was given a grand total of 7 days off this month!
Positively better than 6 ...

I recommend you read and read again what trader said. Very well done trader.

Regret.
 

I wish I'd spoken to Trader four years ago...

Trader where did you get 22,000 take home a month from?

The base is 25, 450 + 50/hr. Lets say 90 hours/month = 29, 950/month

What am I missing here?

Ya, my mis-typed that one--meant to say around 25,000 take home after deductions.

You are correct, more or less. Just don't forget Provident Fund contribution of 5% taken off. It's a volunteer programme I know and you're paying yourself, but it's less spendable each month.