Emirates - how is it?
 

Before any of you refer me to pprune.org - I’m not even going to try there. Lots of negativity and bias that I’d rather not focus on, plus, people on this forum seem to know more of what they’re talking about.

I understand as a pilot in the United States it’s a lot easier to just go to the majors and have a great life, but I feel like there’s more to life than hopping back and forth around the US for 10+ years before finally being able to go to Europe, Asia, Australia, etc; I want to explore the world!

The only downside would be to move from the security and familiarity of the United States.. but I’m sure that won’t be a problem after getting used to Dubai. I’ve heard the pay is also good.

So if there’s any EK pilots on here that would be willing to share their experience I would be extremely grateful to have an insight to what it’s like.

Side note - I know nobody is flying for Emirates right now (save a few) so I thought now would be a good time to ask with everyone having some time off.

I dont fly for EK but i do know a thing or two about them. Right now they have pretty much shut down and will not be hiring for years to come..Other than that, yes you will get to see the World flying for them.

Yeah it’s a shame but I guess it’s all for the better.

Are we pretending like covid19 didn't happen? Then he we go..

Probably a safer bet to stay in the US where we have unions and stuff. But if you're trying to get some heavy time for the majors you could do a few years at EK. You will fly a lot!

Not

If you have the experience to apply to US legacies, but want to fly widebodies off the bat, and your goal is to see the world, then you should consider FedEx or UPS over Emirates.

Yeah, I’m wondering how it was before all of this happened.

I’ve definitely considered them, my problem is is that they fly pretty much ONLY at night, and fly aircraft (apart from UPS’ 747) that I’d rather not fly. I’d rather fly a 777 or A380 across the world during the day than a 75/767 across the world but only during the night, if you get what I mean.

Disregarding the fact they probably won't be hiring for a long time, depends. Obviously no flying now, but from what everyone was worked like a slave beforehand. Money is better than regional, but does not touch any career airline when considering the hours worked.

A 24 hour layover at an airport hotel after a long flight is not seeing the world.

If people were truly worked like slaves there (e.g. long hours and little pay to compensate) no one would work for Emirates. It’s that simple. Plenty of pilots there are expats that can easily leave for their own country without being pressured by the UAE. Unless you work for them, I’m betting you got that information from pprune.org

As far as 24-hour layovers are concerned, that’s not true. Plenty of EK pilots have mentioned elsewhere that they’re around 48 hrs usually. Plus, you’re going to visit the locations more than once so that “48 hours” isn’t all you’re experiencing.

By Western standards, it is. You are guaranteed eight days off a month flying East/West around the world. The ME3 have a revolving door of pilots with ones from the developing world/failed states, golden handcuffs, 25 year olds needing to pay off passive loans, etc. stick around.

Most are 24 hours, some are 48. Only the destinations that are not served daily are longer than a day and a few others. There are dozens of videos of crew on Youtube describing the layovers.