Originally Posted by Typhoonpilot

There are a lot of threads here on APC. Just search "Emirates". The threads here are 100% better than any you'll find on PPrune. Pprune went downhill as an information source about 10 years ago and it just keeps getting worse.

I was at Emirates for 11 years and recently left for something else. So I made it more than the average American That's kind of funny actually since when I left I was basically the senior American. Gillegan, who left a few years ago, made it 15 years. Emirates didn't really hire Americans until slightly after I joined. The flood gates opened a few years after that and there are about 300 there now. There was a period where ERJ and CRJ pilots were getting hired, but then the pendulum swung the other way and it stopped. I am hearing now that some corporate guys with only GIV GV or Challenger time have been getting calls, but I believe they are flying in that region already.

A large number of those 300 Americans are looking to leave. Emirates was great during the post 9-11 furloughs/bankruptcies and then the age 65 stagnation period, but now that things are starting to move in the USA again there is no way I would recommend going there. One of the main reasons to go to Emirates was the chance at a quick upgrade in a widebody. I was lucky and upgraded in one year ( previous command time ) and most who joined within the 5 years after me upgraded in the 3-5 year time frame. That has ended now. Upgrades for a new joiner today are going to go beyond a decade. It's just simple math. Look at the fleet number now; the projected growth; the number of pilots; and the attrition rate to get a rough idea. At what point might you be projecting to be at the half way point up the seniority list?

If you want to go to Emirates I would highly recommend getting 1000 PIC jet before leaving the States. At least then you'll have the qualifications to get back to the States someday. Because you won't be getting PIC time at EK for at least 10 years.


Typhoonpilot