The real question is why would you want to make that your goal. Emirates is really only good for around 10-15 years. Some can last longer and still enjoy it, but most do not.

A young guy just starting out should not make Emirates their goal. Stay in your home country and work for the good airline(s) in your home country. That should be the goal. If it doesn't work out by the time you are in your late 30s or early 40s then you make the move to an overseas job. Either that or make Emirates a stepping stone to something better in your home country. Just stay for a few years to make yourself competitive against the hords of RJ pilots.

We'll be seeing a lot of guys leaving Emirates once U.S. hiring picks up starting late this year and early next. For just these reasons.


TP

I agree with Typhoon but also think there are some other reasons why Emirates should not be your first choice. The big reason why Emirates has been a good career choice over the last 15-20 years has been it's expansion. If you look back at this industry over the last 50 years, the pilots who had the best careers were largely the ones who got hired at the beginning of a wave. In all cases, those waves crested and died eventually.

Emirates pay (okay, not great) and working conditions (poor and getting worse) have varied over the last 20 years from poor to okay but what made it work for most guys was the fast upgrade (3 to 4 years). Those upgrade times were tied to the airline doubling it's fleet size every 3 to 4 years. While Emirates is no longer expanding at that rate, the time for upgrade has stayed relatively fast due to a disproportionate amount of their recent expansion being ULR flying which increases the crews per airplane dramatically.

Emirates announced plans show them well past the mid-point in their expansion with a lot of the long range flying already achieved. About the only thing keeping the upgrade time low for some are the arcane rules that they have for fleet transfers. The wave has crested and upgrade times will start to increase dramatically. Add to that the fact that Emirates is no longer flying under most countries radar and they have begun to work to limit Emirate's expansion plans. Young pilots flocking to the sandpit now are reacting to the situation that existed 5-10 years ago. Don't feel bad, Typhoon and I made the same mistake 23 years ago when we joined what had previously been the most profitable, highest paying (by equipment) and fastest expanding carrier in the country. (I'll give you a hint, it wasn't Southwest, FedEx or UPS). We were left to pick up the pieces of our careers and were lucky to find Emirates at just the right time.

To anyone under 35, I would suggest taking a step back and try to find the next Emirates.. Easier said than done but rest assured, they are out there and I wouldn't discount the US majors simply because of the huge amount of retirements coming. 25 years ago, Southwest, FedEx or UPS weren't on anybody's list for top jobs and 16 years ago when I joined Emirates (left last year after 15 1/2 years), people thought I was nuts. The place to get on now is not obvious.

Gillegan - excellent points. Guys chase airlines as if they're picking stocks from yesterday's headlines. It will be interesting to see what airlines lose pilots, and to which airline they go, when the retirement bubble bursts.

Some stagnated FO's tell guys to avoid their airline like the plague. The guys that get hired behind that stagnation point have the potential for fairly rapid advancement and will be senior for a long time if the airline survives. Bow wave theory always gets the freshest sand. Making that judgement call will be key once retirements start.

While your original airline was a great place 25 yrs ago it's route structure, from a long term perspective, was poor. The analysts back then talked about it's long term weaknesses. To some degree they still exist today.

Good post. Maybe the next place to be is USAIRWAYS (im pretty sure thats the one you were at), but the moral and pay at thst place is just soooo terrible.

Copa 737 Type
 

Not quite sure how I jumped threads here...

Things appeared to have slowed down at Emirates.

What makes you say that? Anyone looked at Qatar Airways lately?

And live in Doha? I've heard nothing but bad experiences.
I'm very open minded and can envision myself living anywhere, but not Doha...
But yes, looks like a good place to get some experience and go elsewhere after 3 years.