Thanks again for sharing guys. Very different kind of operation compared to US Legacy airlines.

And may I add.... Successfull !

Just like Legacy airlines. Except Delta, Us Air, American, & United have been around 80+ years. ;)

The above is true for now!

When you join now on A330, you will be moved to the A380 as the A330's are phased out.

Now, think about this, all those nasty turnarounds that Kaptain alludes to in his post...where do you think they will end up, A380 or 777? That's right...777 fleet. And if you "hold out" for 777 only, you will be stuck doing these as a new joiner.

My friends who are 777 capts are noticing more and more night turns in their bottom bid months. It's only going to get worse. It's a cycle here at EK, when I joined 9 years ago A330/340 fleet had the best flying. When 777-300ER's started joining the fleet, we gradually lost all the good stuff. Now, the cycle is changing to A380.

A380 has the best rosters and QOL. I do 3 -4 trips a month with avg 16 days off, not including rest days. F/O's have even more days off.

Just providing a differing viewpoint.

Heres a question,
What is the possibility of having your wife come with your on your overnights? Here in the United States, I often have my girlfriend come with on overnights, is that even possible with Emirates? Is it prohibitively expensive? What are the overnights (time spent on the ground at the hotel, and quality of hotels) at Emirates?

Thanks!

If there are seats no problem. Price varies on sector length but anywhere from 100 to 500 usd for business class seat. Hotels are great never had a problem anywhere.

Does the 777 do typical 3-4 day trips like we do here in the states?

Any chance of posting some different schedule examples with layover hours etc..? Are the overnights long?

So the 330 does mostly day trips and shorter turns? So you are sleeping in your own bed most of the time? I love day trips here in the states, but they are typically extremely senior and difficult to get.

Just wondering what is best for spending time with your family over there. Here in the states I don't care for being away 4 days a week and basically abandoning the family and missing out on everything. Wifes hate it. I can only imagine it would be even worse over there because they have no friends, family or work to occupy them while we are away.

Do you have any choice in what aircraft you are assigned? Can you ever switch fleets?

thanks

You might see thing start to change . 777 will start to do more of the longer turns as the 330 retires and more 777 arrive . 380 might do BOM turns but the bulk of the turns will be 777 allowing those pilots to spend less time away if desired. Some 777 pilots are starting to see the change in their rosters. It's such a big fleet that if you want turns you can get them and maybe even some nice ones. Not everyone wants layovers or ULR's. The hours seem to be remaining high on the 777 and low the buses for FO's. Some are wanting and needing more hours for upgrade. Long term the 777 will have most of the turns and will provide those will the be at home roster. Talk is upgrades will start to slow so time in the RHS will be longer so you should take that into considerations for planning a lifestyle roster.

The B777 does a lot of 3 and 4 day trips, yes. A 3 day trip is actually only 2.1 day to 2.5 days. Meaning it leaves early on the morning of day 1 ( 0500-0800 pick-up from home ) and gets back late on day 2, often just after midnight so you get home somewhere around 0200 on day 3. Or it leaves mid afternoon on day 1 ( noonish pick-up from home ) and gets back landing at 0700 on day 3. Those are Europe trips.

The Asia trip tend to leave at 0300 on day 1 and get back at 0500 on day 3.

Most layovers are 24 hours. There are some 48 hours layovers and the rare 72 hour layover.

Again, there is no such thing as a typical schedule. For February I can look and see one friend who has 4 Europe trips ( 3 Pragues and a Nice ); 2 day turns; 1 night turn; and 3 days of recurrent. 9 days off and 5 rest days. That's a pretty nice schedule actually. Another friend who bids ULR flying has 2 ULR trips to the States; a Zurich; 1 day turn; and 1 night turn ( the short Doha one ). He has 14 days off.

If you're junior and in a bottom bid group you can expect the 9 day BKK-SYD trip on occasion. Or some of the longer freighter trips.

We do have trip trading so it's sometimes possible to find an Aussie who'll take the BKK-SYD trip from you. One of the best deals I ever got was an Aussie who wanted my 11 day SIN-MEL trip in exchange for 2 BKK-HKG trips and 3 of his days off. Back then the pay didn't change so it was a fantastic offer. His family was in MEL and that trip had 7 nights in MEL so it worked for him as well.


TP

I would gladly take your 4 day trips over my 17 days in a row away from home. I got short listed for EK this month. Hoping for an interview in the near future.Any schedule I would get at EK would be superior to what I have going now.