My Thoughts about Emirates
I currently work at a regional carrier with a purple and yellow tail in the US. Conditions are not so great. Now I am nowhere near panic mode because I can get to where I am right now financially very quickly at another regional if I have to. I am a junior captain flying 90-95 per month. Will break 1000 PIC in January if the Status Quo continues until then. Here is the kicker. On my dream sheet of airlines only one requires 1000 PIC turbine. I am not going to pay out of my pocket for a type on a 73 to get a 1 in 3 shot at job and a 2 in 3 shot at wasting 7 grand. So on the dream sheet make one of them very unlikely. For the rest of the sheet I will be qualified for all of them in July. Trouble is that I don’t know if any of them will interview me and I don’t know if they interview me that they will hire me. Situation is starting to look bleak in the US. O and as long as that kindergartner in the White House won’t let anyone go on strike I am more than willing to take my ball and go play in someone else’s sand box.
My wife is a school teacher. She is very excited about the idea of traveling to a foreign country for a short or long stay and I am too. She worked full time while I worked on my ratings and now she wants to work on her Masters Degree full time in return. My salary alone in the US won’t cut it very well and there is the possibility of me being hired at a carrier that has very low wages in the first and even the second year. If she starts now she may have to stop and go to work because of me graduating from YV and heading to greener pastures. Not a popular idea with her. So that leaves me with my own unique situation which is this.
Spending my career with YV would be a tragedy. I am itching to get out of here but only to somewhere that is truly better and that I can call a career if I have to. I am not going to fry the first fish that bites unless it is a good fish for frying. That is how I ended up at YV.
I have been reading about Emirates extensively on forums like this one. Lots of Poo Flinging going on. Here is the situation for me. I see Emirates as a place to camp until someone on my dream sheet calls and if they never do it would not be a tragedy if I had to spend my career there. Seems that Emirates and I could go well together by giving me a chance to provide for my wife just like she did when I was a flight student. 3 years for her and a chance to put back some major $. A return to the U.S. would be easier during the first year pay if I had some $ in the bank.
My major question is this: What other carriers should I consider and apply to along with Emirates. I have a type on the CRJ and that is the only jet I have flown so where else am I qualified to work? Making money and being able to put a lot back is major to me.
I have read that the police in the UAE are sort of lawless in nature. That I could easily get charged with a crime. Are lots of expatriates experiencing this? Is this a major concern? I am not going to Lie, Cheat, or Steal ever. If accused of something that is bull like causing a car accident when some guy from BFE who shouldn’t have a license in the first place clearly is at fault can a lawyer handle this and bring justice or is this just going to be tough for me.
Other people have posted that once I head down the expatriate road there is no return to the US. Why can’t you return? Is it that no one will hire you if you have been over seas or is it that you can’t take the pay cut or what? Please be as complete in your answer as possible because I really don’t understand this.
How many nights a month would you consider to be a usual amount of nights to spend in your bed for those of you working at Emirates? Other companies over seas chime in as well please. I am looking for significant improvement there over the current IAD commute at YV. Maybe 5 at the most right now for me at YV.
Can anyone who brought pets with them share their experience with that because this could be a deal breaker? We have 2 cats.
At the road show they said that the attrition is around 3 percent. Truth? What’s the word because that seems pretty powerful to me.
Trust me on this one. I have read the other major issues and they are small to me with regards to Emirates. Living far away from home! I see my family around 10 days per year. Not a big deal to me with 42 days of vacation because I think this would actually increase the time that I could see my family in the US. Hot! I am from South Louisiana. Only 14 days off! Refer to sentence one of this posts.
Last edited by A-V-8; 06-03-2008 at 02:02 PM.