To the best of my understanding "yes", but I also heard as late as September. Apparently depends on currency.

February is almost over.Any news for the guys still swimming?

Nothing at all....screening in May 2008!! Good luck

Considering the recent changes in rostering and overtime, I think it's fairly safe to say the requirement for new courses just got pushed back even further.

Personally, I'm not holding out much hope at this point that I'll get out of the pool but it is aviation and minor miracles have been known to happen

Ladies 'n Gents

Let me make this perfectly clear fer y'all. Villasare no longer provided by Emirates, despite what it says on the papers y'all are gonna sign.

A villa is a stand alone building. A house to folks from north 'merica. What EK's offerin is, in almost all cases these days is a duplex or mulitple family dwelling. Think welfare housin' from Surrey. I've said it before an' I'll say it agin... it's one step outta tha trailer park.

The company is not payin' fer even these kinds of digs at the moment. There's been a little movement, but the locations are terrible. This Mirdiff area is right on the east side a tha airport. It's noisy as hell. Smells like sewage when the wind ain't blowin. It's a nightmare.

Think about the new work rules long and hard: we're facin' down 92 hour blocks startin' 01 Apr. (That ain't no April Fools joke at all). The rules here are terrible. I honestly didn't think that it could git any worse, but it has. It's frickin brutal...

King,
Sir you talk out of your arse. :ok:

Talking out of his arse!

Finally, a plausible explanation for his annoying inability to pronounce the letter "g"........

For what ever reason, have been told it's DEWA who are dragging the chain on the releasing of the hundreds of Villas that EK are already paying rent on.

Not sure how that works as DEWA, as far as l am aware is part of the Dubai municipality, which in turn is part of Dubai Government, therefor a sister outfit to EK, no? And who are they paying rent to, the government real estate company?

All looks as logical as our recent T & C "adjustments"

halas

DEWA = Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Note the subtle lack of inclusion of sewerage :hmm: )

So,for us guys in the pool,it's not important if they call us,it is if we should take it or not.Something to keep thinking about!

Housing for pilots
 

My question is;
Since Dubai is in such a recession and the housing bubble has burst as in the US, why aren't any of the pilots taking advantage of the market and buying there own property? Is Emirates still offering money if you opt out of company housing?

I think all those in the pool have read and heard enough about the housing disaster. There is no one to blame but yourself if you choose Emirates and become another number in line as far as housing goes. Choose you career path carefully.

Since Dubai is in such a recession and the housing bubble has burst as in the US, why aren't any of the pilots taking advantage of the market and buying there own property?

Maybe two things - the purchase financing being difficult to obtain (wrt, credit and higher down payments) and we have yet to reach a bottom, probably nowhere near it.

Because pilots being pilots=herd mentality also bought at the top me recons. the street.

Is there any truth in what the Uk papaers are saying? Seen quite a few articles saying that Ex-pats are leaving and walking away from their commitments i.e home loans otherwise they'll be put inside? apparently there are over 3000 cars parked in Dubai airport with their keys left in the ignition and maxed out credit cards in the glove. Any truth?

The news papers blow things out of porportion. I was told there is a problem in Dubai and there are cars left at the airport due to "selling of cars" laws. My understanding is you have to own a car in order to sell it in dubai, or you can go to debt jail. Expats are being laid off and visas are being revoked, as a result people can pay their bills and flee. There is still a lot of traffic, but the gov't is trying to get rid of old used cars.

So true LR3, so true.

LR is correct. If the conditions were the same when I joined, as they are now, I would not have joined.
The deterioration of our T&C's has gathered momentum. Emirates is no longer what it was, as short as 5 years ago. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but everyone should reconsider EK now. It has gotten that bad here.

ps. Kingofthe... I agree with what you say but can you stop using da's, ders and y'alls and write properly? You lose all credibility when you write like an uneducated teenager. I don't mean it as a slag on you, more a constructive criticism.

Firstly its not a pound of flesh anymore its a kilo, a big step back.
But

LR3 you need to get the facts first

O/T is still at the same rate you were told at the interveiw( maybe even gone up 0 , unfortunately its at 92 hrs now

Use to be villsa and now its town houses... what do you call H84's and the 164's and the list goes on .Other than DSO most are not stand alone villas. Talk to some of the guys in 2 bed apt's and they love it because of the size and location

You knew there was no unions when you joined, a bit a research for those thinking of coming is a must and lack of it can only be blamed on yourself.

Buyer beware

Myself and hundreds others are waiting for the next best thing so if you know of one lets us know.

@ fatbus...

there is another sad truth, the airline is materially different from a few years ago. So many guys I fly with have very little good to say about the current crop of weeds, sorry, managers.

If I knew how quickly, and in which direction, things would change, I am sure that I would have stayed in my warm third world country. Alas, I was one who was stupid enough to believe the recruiters, and now I and my family are paying for my lack of astutenenss. 11 months in, and still in temporary accommodation, why did I believe them when they said maybe a few weeks in temp? Overtime limit pushed from 78 to 92 hours, no attempt to soften the blow, just there u are, we know that market conditions are bad (i.e. you can't go anywhere) so suck it up.

Oh well, when things improve, and they will, for this is a cyclical industry, there will be an exodus, and the managers will be running around trying to improve conditions to keep people. And that is when the older managers will realise that package is not the be all and end all to make an employee happy, respect and trust is also important. Afetr only 11 months I can hardly believe that I have none of that left for them already :sad:

There's a very simple principle to follow for any prospective joiners. (Well, there won't be any for awhile as apparently recruiting is done for 2009).

The very best day of your employment at Emirates will be the very first day you work for them. Every single day after that will be worse. I cannot think of any aspect of living in Dubai or working for Emirates that has stayed the same or materially improved over the course of the last few years. Oh, there have been some bright spots which I'm sure the faithful will jump all over to convince themselves of how wonderful it is. But it's one step forward, three back.

Just keep that in mind and you'll be fine.

Been here 14 mths, also would not have come with the current conditions...:mad: