Emirates or Cathay?
 

Hello,

Pretend you're 32, married, with 1,500 hrs in command of a 737NG and around 5,000 total.

You fancy getting your sweaty paws on a wide body jet and reaping all the so called 'benefits' of a so called 'major'.

With potentially 20+ years service ahead of you, who's gonna look after you best?

Pretend you have narrowed your search to Emirates or Cathay mainline.

Who would you go for?

Discuss :D

Unfortunately you will have to keep on pretending either way!

Good luck!

halas

Hi There,

Very good question indeed.

hmmmm:confused: the anwser well, whoever gave me a job opportunity between them two i guess:ok:

Without having been at either, I would say Emirates.

Now, what are these so-called "benefits" anyhow?

Panama Jack,

By benefits, I mean provident fund or pension, seniority, bidding system etc.

My current low cost employer doesn't really have any good reason to stay, i.e. I will not be any better off in 5, 10 or 20 years.

Yes, I will be in a good position, but maybe having missed out on something 'major'.

Neither. Thought of Dragonair? You'd be a captain quicker than with either of those.

Dragonair???
 

Before you consider Dragonair, think about putting up with chinese ATC just about every time you go flying.....that never ending mandarin chatter in the background will drive you nuts and HKG (polluted, overcrowded and limited spaces) will drive you to drink, divorce and be miserable! I would say Emirates is the way forward and a maximum of 3 years wait for command if you have 20+ years in aviation is not bad. :(

I am with Emirates, been here ten years. Go for Cathay, trust me!

Check Six

Would your wife rather live in Dubai or Hong Kong?

having lived in Abu dhabi , i would go for EK , but i read on this forum somewhere that a cathay FO makes more than an EK captain ??

dont know if true

how long for
 

do U want to get 380ed ... EK .... then you can move to another fleet as the 380 penetrates the world.

living - for me HK - but it depends on what U like and more what the family can live with and wants to live with.

realise that if U don't learn arabic or cantonese/mandarin you will feel out of place at times.

also consider who might be willing to offer you a job as an F/O - its not gods given right fo be left when you start and it could be 10 years before you move across if U are not already rated

just thoughts - good luck whatever you decide

Why would anybody want to get rated on the A380, looks ugly and is flown with a stick taken from a computer games console.

747 will always and I repeat ALWAYS be king of the sky !!

Back to the question: If I had the choice it would be Cathay based in UK (Manchester). Haven`t seen what Dubai is like yet so may change my mind !

Oh boy, the infamous 'stick', and the stories of an instructor that said to the candidates it was like their buddy's di**, they don't want to touch it too much!! One quick candidate said: 'actually in that case I don't want to touch it at all' :O

Thanks guys,

My personal situation is that my wife and I would rather live in Hong Kong than Dubai.

Although we've never been to either, we get the impression that if you don't like Dubai- tough, you either put up with it or leave the company. Cathay, I understand, gives you the option to have a 4 month temp base every year and re-location on upgrade to F/O.

I'm also led to believe that in Dubai, females have much less respect and quality of life than in HK. She certainly won't be happy being locked in a compound sitting by a pool sipping cocktails all day, although understandably, I know this is very attractive to some spouses. For a holiday, maybe, but not ten or even twenty years.

Thanks for the input.

John Milton

Hey John

Dubai is NOT like Saudi. My wife's always out and about - loads to do in Dubai and UAE.

cheers.:ok:

Excuse me?!
 

Ah John,

It was an interesting question, and since I'm in DXB and I've been to HK I was formulating the best I can do at an intelligent reply. There are pro's and con's to both situations and I was about to give my views on the family aspect. Then you post this crap,

"I'm also led to believe that in Dubai, females have much less respect and quality of life than in HK. She certainly won't be happy being locked in a compound sitting by a pool sipping cocktails all day, although understandably, I know this is very attractive to some spouses. For a holiday, maybe, but not ten or even twenty years."

What a moron. This is not a city of "compounds". Since 83% of Dubai are ex-pat, if you put us all in "compounds", it'd be one big jailyard. Furthermore, most of the wives I know here work either full or part-time. As for respect, my wife walks safely and comfortably at night in Dubai. Can you do that in New York?

If you're going to ask a question to gain knowledge, fine. But don't follow-up it up with an ignorant slur. You admit you've never been to either place and you write that?!?!

With your attitude, I'd suggest that both Cathay and EK are off the cards. Stay home.

Bus,

You seem to have taken my last post personally, I apologise for that. It was not intended to be a slur on anyone indivudually or collectively, but I did say "as I have been led to believe..." and that is the truth. I wont apologise for being fed information from this web-site or others.

I know pilots wifes who are actively pushing their husbands to apply to Emirates because they have been on vacation there and loved it. But they have absolutely no intention of looking for work on arrival, just continuing a vacation. Fine, I have no problem with that. But I have been LED TO BELIEVE that the accomodation provided by Emirates is indeed in a compound. If this is incorrect, great, that's what I want to hear. But hey, thats not an attack on anybodys lifestyle out there. I don't know anybody in Emirates or Cathay, that's why I'm posting on here.

Bus Canuck, I've re-read my last post again and again, and I can't see how it offended you so much to bother to make an attack on my personality like that. White Knight certainly isn't as sensitive as you are.

John Milton

OK, I did take it personally because to agree with the "cocktales" statement would be to say that my wife is virtually slotherly. Also, "compound" is a word I associate with a confined, restricted area. It has a negative connotation for me, but maybe that's just my English...Accomodations at EK/Dubai is a huge issue and had been written about in many, many threads. Suffice to say that every villa/flat has good and down sides. For the most part, they are very nice.

Anyway, to your original question, one has to realize that in today's world, these are both excellent jobs. It depends on what's important to you. For example, schooling. (It's excellent in Dubai.) How about your hobbies? I made sure I could pursue my sports before I moved.

EK's package is fairly modest in terms of basic wage, so if the accomadations and other 'perks' don't interest you, CX is better. However, EK is expanding rapidily...

Basically, I think EK is a longer term commitment. CX pays significantly better and you'd be in a better position to leave earlier if you didn't like the ex-pat life.

Sorry I was so abrupt. I thought you were ending your 'research' and had accepted steriotypical conclusions. Your response was well measured and I'll keep my future posts the same!

Cheers

Bus,

Good point about the hobbys. We are looking into that right now. I like sailing and golf, my wife is into horse riding big time. So much so, it would probably be a 'dealbreaker' if she couldn't persue it.

So how did you find Hong Kong? I'm hearing a lot of 'dirty, smelly, and the Chinese people spit on you in the streets'. I find this hard to believe. I hope you can tell me that isn't so.

Thanks,

John Milton

Generally speaking I love the South East Asia area and the lifestyle on offer. You are at the crossroads of the world.

It is also close to my home country (Aust) which has its advantages.

My concerns about EK and DXB is the political/security situation in the area and possible upheaval in neighbouring Saudia Arabia.

Do not loose sight of the fact DXB is in a Muslim country and anything can happen at short notice.

I remember visiting a friend in Tehran in the 1980's who at the time was flying an Australian Airlines A300 on wet lease. Lovely place with happy crews but it all went belly up at short notice.