Dune:
You've taken the time to write a very good post and I thank you for that. I agree with some of your statements and disagree with others.
The reason I seem so positive on these boards all the time is that I have been trying to keep the everything about EK and Dubai is negative posters out of here. It does nobody any good to post a link to an article about a rape or a murder in Dubai ( like happens on PPrune ). Well, guess what, rape and murder happen everywhere. It brings nothing to the discussion to post something like that in an isolated environment. You did that here with the article on inflation, let's talk about that.
House prices in many areas of the USA have more than doubled in price in the last 3-4 years. In some cases they have almost tripled. Gasoline prices in the USA have gone up signicantly over the last 4 years. Inflation and cost of living problems are not unique to Dubai.
Should it be talked about, yes it should, but not with an article that is targeted to a different audience. Look at it this way. I can't afford to take a $100,000/yr job in the San Francisco Bay area because I could not afford to buy/rent a house. If a company would provide me with a house I could then afford it as I would have been insulated from the
major component of cost of living.
What about the American f/o who was forced to move from very near your location to the "closed compound" concept of Silicon Oasis due to numerous break-ins, anti-American graffiti on his wall (the "pig" they drew looked like a cat; guess they hadn't seen a real pig in this part of the world ) and the high end Merc with blacked out windows who was trolling in front of his place on a regular basis in search of his teenage daughter. Not an isolated event either (this also happened to my teenage daughter several years ago and is currently happening to the wife of an f/o I flew with last week); should this sort of information not be provided to potential new joiners just because it may not have happened to you and is what you describe as "negativity"?
Okay, what about him? Here you post in a manner that insinuates Silicon Oasis is a very bad place. It is a gated community of very nice villas. I was out there last night with two friends who voluntarily moved there so they could have bigger yards and parks. It is hardly a compound and all the negative connotations that you want that to entail. It's the nicest neighborhood I've seen in Dubai. Yes, it is a bit of a hike to get out there from where I live, but it's not an unreasonable distance.
I just read an article about two Belgian girls, age 7 and 10, who were found raped and murdered outside of Liege in Belgium. Not to belittle an event like yours or his in Dubai, I'm sure it is very disturbing, but sexual predators and perverts are everywhere. In the western world the outcome is usually far worse though.
What about the appeals process you alluded to in your last post with one of our American DEC's? Did it have to happen in the first place? Did it have to go as far as it did? Is the individual concerned happy at the outcome that the appeals process is so great (as you say) and merrily continuing along in his career with Emirates (real story; family left back in the States as a result of the event, individual very unhappy at EK and looking for a new job just as soon as he can get his ass out of here). What about the crew that made a mistake and bent an a/c in South Africa (following exactly what they were told to do by EK instructors)? Fair process? Result was 2+ years on the ground not flying followed by the Capt spending a further 1 year as an f/o before he is re-judged for suitability for command? 2 further years for the f/o before he can be looked at for command. Fair process?
You don't know the whole story of that American DEC, nor will I post it here. There is much more to it than you know. As for the Airbus crew, that was a bad deal no doubt about it. At a western arline it would have been handled a lot better. Something worth talking about for sure.
What I absolutely do not want to have happen is for guys to give up potentially good long term careers to move their families half way around the world and not get what they expected because you told them everything was wonderful.
I don't want that either and if you would read all the information here on APC you would find that we have had discussions on house prices, school fees, differences in the training culture, etc. The more points of view we get here the better so please join in the discussion, but make it logical and well thought out.
You've been out of your country for 8 years. You've had a stable job where you have been promoted during a time when many people have seen pay cuts of up to 60%, loss of pensions, furloughs, collapse of their airline, etc. You have seen Dubai and EK in better times. What you haven't seen is how bad it has gotten in the western world. You haven't had to live through the uncertainty of whether or not your carrier was going to survive. Whether or not you would have a job next month or next year.
I've never said that EK is nirvana or some lost mystical paradise for airline pilots, it isn't. It is a good job though and it is worth considering for people who are looking for alternatives.
Typhoonpilot