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Old 04-20-2014, 03:24 AM
  #11  
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This place is not for everyone, but more than half a decade and i'm still content. I don't have kids and school woes, I don't have a wife with a shopping addiction or chewing my ear off about moving home, I have a reasonable place to live and plenty of disposable income. Yes rent rates and cost of living is rising. Yes the union protections are not there. My daily yardstick is whether my life is/was better or worse than it was back in the states. That answer continues to be yes.
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Old 04-20-2014, 08:04 AM
  #12  
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I know two married guys there (no kids) and they both love it...plus another guy who flies for Qatar out of Doha....he and his wife both like Qatar and living in Doha.

I, personally, like Abu Dhabi (Etihad) a LOT better than Dubai, and would prefer not to live in the Middle East...know another guy for Saudia in Jeddah...he and his wife and kids like it a lot, also...but it wouldn't be my first choice.

If you are really interested, go to pprune.org and check out all the EK info...they also have a lot of info on Qatar...but none on Etihad as Etihad sued the website and they don't support any more Etihad threads.
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Old 04-22-2014, 08:58 PM
  #13  
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Originally Posted by atpcliff View Post
I know two married guys there (no kids) and they both love it...plus another guy who flies for Qatar out of Doha....he and his wife both like Qatar and living in Doha.
It's merely ok now, Cliff. T&C are deteriorating (No pay rises for the last two years and cost of living is rising rapidly). I'll be vested in my retirement next year and will start looking elsewhere then.

To come here as a new joiner now is very very different than 2008, you'll need to look long and hard and weigh it very carefully.
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Old 04-22-2014, 09:27 PM
  #14  
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That is one of the most chilling articles I have read in a while.
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Old 04-24-2014, 07:50 AM
  #15  
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To fly at Emirates, one has to sell their soul to do it. Quick upgrades which used to be the huge draw to this place place are dwindling away due to several reasons… but nonetheless dwindling.

It "is" a good job. But for me and many of those I talk to these days, what one has to put up with is just not worth it for most westerners…. not all certainly, but most. As someone said, it's changed drastically here in the past 4-5 years…. IMO all for the worse.

EK says you're entitled to 42 days vacation/year: I'd say 90% plus get only the legally required 30 days a year. You don't hear that at the Road Shows!! Might not sound like much but most really need/want to get out of Dubai when we have holidays. If you tell us we're entitled to 42, then gives us 42! Have a problem with that? "THERE'S THE DOOR"!! That is what you will hear and I've actually heard the SVP of Flight say that several years ago at a meeting 2010 time frame! We have many pilots having lots of days in the vacation bank. Have heard one pilot had 40 days that were not awarded to him over the years. Things to think about

Along the same lines as vacation… EK has a policy of being "acclimated" before doing a long haul flight. You have to be within a 2 hour time zone of Dubai for the previous 3 local nights in Dubai before flying one. Guess what they do to your schedule right after your much needed vacation? You get awarded a long haul flight requiring you to be effectively in Dubai right after vacation…. no extra days off after vacation. Also one has to be in Dubai 12 hours before any flight which negates any thoughts of commuting.

Most of what is not so good at EK are things that are hard to really quantify. It's just stuff that happens and that "may" happen to you if you do this or do that. It's simply something I've never experienced before in a job with the hidden agenda (threats?) that if you go against the grain, you will be singled out and called in for what we in the west would consider a non event. But at EK, pretty much anything is an event!! It's been best described to me this way: Every flight at EK is like having a Fed in your jumpseat and with you at the layover hotel as well. Always watching….

I in good conscience just can't recommend this place any longer. I used to be a fan of the place but like many many others, I'm actively looking elsewhere.

The airline believes in shooting first, then asking questions later. But the sad thing is… they are so close to being a fantastic gig, but they'll never get there. There are too many "brick walls" at the top end who stop all the mid level managers who are trying to do the right thing.

It's something you really just have to experience in order to fully grasp what its all about.

Cavaet Emptor never meant so much than here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

K
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Old 04-29-2014, 10:05 AM
  #16  
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Let me chime in and put some things in perspective.

One of the big selling points in Dubai is "tax-free" status. Sure, there's no sales tax or income tax, but they have fees for everything. Also, the prices are so overinflated and your dollar goes much much farther back in the US than here.

For example, I went to Outback at Dubai Mall for a steak dinner.

Let me break down some differences. Bloomin' Onion in the US? $7.29... in Dubai, that's 48 AED or $13.09.

Porterhouse steak in the US is $23.99 +/- $2.00 location dependent. In Dubai, that same steak is 187 AED or $50.90. Don't want that big of a steak, and you want an Outback Special instead? In the US, $15.99, here it's 98 AED or $27.

Rent prices have gone insane. Literally insane. Where do you get 40%-60% increase in rent over a 18-month period? Right here in Dubai/Abu Dhabi. Ah, but Emirates will put you in free housing, right? Absolutely! You should check out their new housing project called Meydan Heights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zny7Sp-m3os

EK - Meydan Heights preview, get ready - PPRuNe Forums

This is their answer to increasing cost of housing. Sadly, this is echoed by most employers, not just Emirates, as the prevalent feeling is that Dubai/UAE is a prestigious and highly desired place to live and work, and no longer necessary to attract talent with higher compensation.

Simply put, salaries aren't keeping up with the cost of living, neither do the housing allowances, your dollar doesn't go nearly as far as it does back home, even in more expensive parts of the country, and the "tax free" status is a joke which doesn't do anything for you here.

Great many of us came here after our airlines or employers folded in 2008/2009 timeframe. I'm sure you'll agree that the hiring situation back then was much different than it is today. So my question is... why would you even want to come here today? Do you have skeletons that prevent you from getting hired back home? If not... be patient and keep updating your apps.
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Old 04-30-2014, 02:04 PM
  #17  
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Yep….

What RJS Aviator just said!!

There are just better places in the world these days than Emirates!!

K
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Old 04-30-2014, 04:52 PM
  #18  
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Plus 2. Tax free? Think again. The IRS will hunt you down and possibly look at you as being US based. They will come after your Foreign Tax Exclusion and make life miserable for you, while you try to prove them wrong.
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Old 05-01-2014, 03:59 PM
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Originally Posted by Skyone View Post
Plus 2. Tax free? Think again. The IRS will hunt you down and possibly look at you as being US based. They will come after your Foreign Tax Exclusion and make life miserable for you, while you try to prove them wrong.
Sure, if you fail to meet the guidelines. Follow the rules - document where you are, don't sweat it.
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Old 05-05-2014, 09:25 AM
  #20  
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Originally Posted by chignutsak View Post
Sure, if you fail to meet the guidelines. Follow the rules - document where you are, don't sweat it.
WRONG. Talk to the dozen or so that are being audited and have been audited, that followed all the rules and documented all and even sent in copies of their resident visas with their returns. The TCOs, tax compliance officers, are interpreting the rules differently than what is logical. They can't understand that for the most part we are salaried, with little flight pay. They see us as US based like Cathey and then interpret that we are US residents when over international waters. It's a mess. They believe that we start and stop ALL our trips in the US, thus disallowing the FTE. Not logical, but that is what many are dealing with. All have hired a tax attorney to mitigate the damage.

Reams of paper, including flight plans, charts master card bills, restaurant receipts, FedEx bills etc are being sent to the attorneys. A major stress point for most. Not that simple as, "hey guys I'm a resident and here's my visa to prove it."

When over international waters, we are being treated as if we are crew on a ship. That is, since there is no controlling authority in ship lanes, we retain our status as if in the US. They are unable to understand, that over 95% of the world, there will be a foreign controlling authority over int'l waters.
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