I'm not starting until next month but a friend sent me his 777 roster and I can see one block of 5 days at home after a 25h layover (1 rest day + 4 days off). I don't know how rare that is. The rest of the month I can see mostly blocks of 1-3 days off in Dubai. Some of those 1s are in-between early morning turnarounds.

Is it as bad as some people say?

I believe that, like everywhere else, there may have some good and some bad rosters. Would you try to check with your friend ir he can share his opinion a little bit further?

Confirmed. Economy. Business was an option several years ago when they started but that's over now.

Doubtful in the foreseeable future.. 380 mostly shut down during the plague but Boeing kept flying, so there's many 777 FOs in the pipeline for upgrade. Having said that, things change eventually so keep an eye on the pilot recruitment website. It could be quite some time though.

Ok let’s dispel some myths about how wonderful the roster system is at EK. Ek uses the same system as some of the major US carriers, but have totally restricted it with EK company limitations.
As an example, the other day an FO told me how he’d chatted with an FO from a major US carrier using the same swap system that EK uses. This guy was rebuilding his roster online, rejecting rostered flights and swapping while in pool bar at hotel.

The EK FO cannot do this, he has to use the EK swap system which is laced with EK company restrictions , max number of days off limitation, max number of days off in row restrictions, cannot swap into overtime, minimum and max monthly limits plus many more! The system has anomalies which will reject swap for no reason even if it’s legal BUT upper management have told rostering department they are NOT allowed to do manual interventions, even if swap is legal. PLUS rostering department can’t or don’t know how to correct the anomalies!

The monthly bid you put in with your requests and preferences is a lottery. Why ? Well on top of the EK restrictions they have set system up for minimum cost, max efficiency and minimum pilot preferences. This means condensed rosters (max efficiency) giving limited flexibility for you to actually swap the flights you were given because in many cases you have just over minimum required time off before next flight. Basically Dubai 24-48 hour layovers between foreign flights! It’s not uncommon to see less than 24 hours in Dubai between flights if it’s more efficient ! And of course the reason you’re swapping flights is in many cases (due minimum pilot preference) the flights you have are not the flights you want!

You will hear many pilots bemoaning the fact they ask for USA flights but are rostered flights to Australia or they bided for flights to Europe and got African or Asian flights!.Some pilots bid for turnarounds so they can be at home, but then they get rostered ULR flights away for days! Meanwhile the guys who want the ULR flights are given turnarounds! And due to EK rules and restrictions and condensed rosters it is almost impossible to swap ULR flights for turnarounds,

So, in essence, you generally don’t get what you bid! Once given the roster with nothing you want on it you then have to spend hours trying to find anyone who wants to swap flights with you and then to find out if EK will allow the swap. Compare this to the pilot from US carrier amending his roster at the pool bar!

so don’t think for one minute that you’re going to get numerous days off between flights, if you do get time off you’re going to spend most of it recuperating from the night flight and jet lag!

EK keep discovering (how cr*p the rostering system is,)

Pif Paf, why don't you enlighten the aspirants on why after so long of being miserable you are still here? Isn't it 20 years and counting? Genuinely and seriously ..Why?

For a brief moment I thought you were taking about EY .
Same Same but less pay :)

Anyone who has ever joined EK knows it’s very hard to escape and have a new job lined up, or perhaps he’s too close to retirement to start over. He’s simply warning aspirants. The bigger question is why are you on here but to pester Pif Paf? Seems like you have an unnatural obsession with him from your posting history, almost exclusively directed to him.

That's all true but when giving advice to others some people should realize that with the current state of low-cost and not so low-cost aviation in Europe, some of us could only dream of a bad bidding/swapping system to be among our biggest problems instead of constantly flying 4 leg days 5 days in a row for 4000€ with no food provided in the airplane and no benefits other than a salary.

Thank you sir

I understand however he was painting an accurate picture….. If that is a step up then by all means go for it!

Hello everyone :ok:, I would like to know if someone can tell me how long it takes for the GCAA to issue the medical certificate since the status is "In Process with GCAA". Thank you

I would also back up what pif PAF said. 100% accurate IMO.

Alright guys, quick question, did search but couldn’t find it and the email they sent wasn’t clear. Are the flights to and back from Dubai in business class for the assessment? The document states that they will help with flights and hotels, then on the following paragraph states that they won’t provide with anything else apart from flights. A little vague.
Qatar provided return business + hotel. Wondering if it’s the same so I can plan accordingly. Many thanks!

You get Flights and hotel provided. Flights are in economy, upgradable to business if seats are available.

Hello, colleagues. I had my Digital Assessment completed 4 days ago and there is no any response from them. Does it mean that I was rejected or I have to wait more time? Thanks for help.

hello,

i’m planning to apply as a first officer. i just got my atpl flying 320s. would appreciate any tips or study documents etc.

thanks.

Patience Grasshopper. They will let you know one way or the other, just on their timeline.

What part of the digital assessment you mean. Did you do the online interview?

The wait means nothing. Just be patient. Some people wait 2 days and some wait weeks.

The application process is long. From the moment you apply until you start participating in the assessment it can take months. Most people use the website latestpilotjobs .com. It has an Emirates specific preparation package that you can pay for and it has all you need to prepare.