EK - how long for upgrade to command?
 

Hello dear EK-collegues,

just passed the Ek recruitment and awaiting the offer letter with contract.
About to give up a 15 year First Officer Time with Lufthansa with no further career option possible.

HR at EK were taking about 4 years to command upgrade. Some FO on A330 say it more looks like 7 years.
I know, probalby hard to predict... everything changes quickly.

Any ideas from your side?

At the moment its about 5 years. Not all of the fellas hired 5 years ago will be upgraded by the years end, so next year it will be longer. We have 80 380s now. We are getting a fleet of 120. To say 4 years is highly unlikely might be a true statement.

In4 years bound to be 400-500 Capts gone

Why isn't any promotion to Captain available at Lufthansa?

Good point fatbus.

Thanks for your Feedbacks.
Really appreciate your comments.

Lufthansa is totally sizing down. Some new routes with the A340-300 are flown with Lufthansa cityline pilots (collegues from the Canadair).
A lot of shorthaul routes from ex LH320 routes are now with Germanwings (or in near future with Eurowings). LH Cargo is also shrinking.
So no command Upgrades since 4 years and no Upgrades to come....:bored:
Looks like trying to stay a happy First Officer with good paid salarly and homebase Munich is a good Option...:rolleyes:

Longhaul with Luftie based in MUC? Please do yourself a favour and stay, don't make the mistake that others (myself included) have made to chase a quicker command, in the long term you will end up regretting it.

Kollege, bitte lies hier die umfangreichen Threads zu EK durch. Wenn Du das machst, bist Du komplett wahnsinnig. Die guten Zeiten sind bei EK vorbei. Die Mitarbeiter wurden schon in den letzten Jahren trotz hoher Gewinne immer mehr ausgepresst. Und jetzt sind die Flieger auch leer, werden Strecken gestrichen ... Und die Kollegen hauen aus gutem Grund in Scharen ab. Wie man behandelt wird, kannst Du Dir in Deinen wildesten Alpträumen nicht vorstellen. Melde Dich gerne per PM

Stay at LH. I am currently at Germanwings and evaluated for myself joining EK. Meanwhile it is clear that EK is not a good option, at least when you have a reasonable job with good salary. Stay cool, no project at Lufthansa or Eurowings works well and times will come when the company needs us. Look at the huge amount of CPs retiring in the next 5 years.

Wenn du von der lh zu ek kommst haue ich dir persönlich eine rein.

If you want to join the ME, I'd have a closer look at QR. Currently the better gig....

@ Mach_Krit Das war aber jetzt nicht nett :D Jeder ist seines Glückes Schmied...

Had a chat with a senior FO from LH during a layover in HKG (early in the evening). Told him I'd swap my left seat for his right seat. If that was you, where is my invitation to join LH ;-) ?

@exdubai mir doch egal 😁

Hello Collegues,

wow. I am quite impressed with that feedback and also directly via email.
Really thanks a lot.
I am really reconsidering staying where I am and try to be happy in Munich.
Prost...:ok:
All the feedback from the flying world outside is really appreciated...:D

I would happily give my left nut to join LH and live in Bayern! Command is a great career move but like I've heard many times before, its all the same just the money is better. Quality of life is KING! Enjoy your Weissbier and Pretzels and leave the desert for the desperado's! No offence but it's true.

I am an FO at a legacy carrier as well. In a similar situation with 15+ years to a short haul command.

I had a few drinks with an EK 777 FO two nights ago.
He left a legacy carrier to join EK and has regretted it since the day he joined.

he says EK is hell. flying 90+ hours on average. His family takes strain and he is always tired.

I'm staying put and I suggest you do as well.

Don't do it. I have not had a roster under 96 hours for 6 months, things are getting worse as time passes. It's not the airline I joined when I joined. No work life balance at all...seriously NONE.

Thomas

You would be totally crazy to leave LH with a Munich basing.....or even without a Munich basing, all that for a totally hypothetical command in 4 years ???
I'm sure it must be frustrating to wait for a command that's not coming, but you live in one of the most beautiful parts of the world with an incridible lifestyle .......!!
Ich wohne auf der anderen Seite des Rheins und habe es immer bereut nicht bei der LH arbeiten zu können.
Geiles Land, geile Stadt.....bleib doch wo du bist und genieße !!
FG

With LH in Munich, You have the following on the "good" side: a good contract with a rather solid company, an acceptable salary, a pension scheme, union representation, a fair legal system, appropriate duty and rest times, Your position a bit up the seniority list, and not forgetting a fine environment to live in for You and Your hypothetical family.

On the "bad" side, there is the general reorganisation of the company, leading to long upgrade times and some uncertainty about the working conditions in the future.

With Emirates, it seems to be the opposite. A possibly quick upgrade, although this is by no means granted and subject to the companies further development, is on the "good" side.

On the "bad" side, there is the meat grinder type roster, the lack of union representation, the companies ability to unilaterally impose changes to the employment contracts, the organisational unity between the aviation authority and the airline, the ever increasing costs of living vs. a stagnating salary, the extreme heat, the pollution, a rather different approach to jurisdiction and so on.

Of course, You need to do the maths Yourself and see which offer suits Your needs best. But do Your due diligence carefully and remember that there is no way back to where You are now, should You decide to go to EK and find it not to Your liking.