Agreed. Not withstanding pay and QOL, one of my considerations for accepting a contract is the cultural experience the location offers. Usually half the pilot group are citizens where the airline was located. The other pilots, of course, were from all corners of the globe. Met a bunch of great guys and gals along the way. SOme of which I'm still in contact with from as far back as my first contract from 1992. I guess I have to say all the contracts were great... some greater than others though.

I will say contracts in the earlier years was a crap shoot. No internet to gather information other than word of mouth from pilots I met along the way. There were fewer agencies out there too... more reputable too. Some agencies today do not come to the defense of their clients allowing airlines to violate the basic concept QOL and or pay. With the Internet, in addition to word of mouth the potential expat can now be an "educated consumer" before signing on the dotted line.

Still the best 25 years of my flying, and wouldn't trade if for, no pun intended, the world.

Emirates is digging deep... emailing people who haven't had contact with them in 5+ years asking if they might know anyone interested in Emirates.... lord

Yeah... It's nice to give them the old TBNT letter and wish them well in their future endeavors. After their third sales attempt a few weeks back, I enquired what part of TBNT did they not understand.

I got the same email. If they would just open multiple bases (like CX) and offer higher pay with respectable schedules the place would be full of resumes.

Will it make me more competitive for a U.S. major or ACMI if I go to Emirates for a year or two? Stats: single, 30 years old, ATP with 2000 hours TT and 1000 hours turbojet, four jet type ratings and airline experience....

EDIT: Yes, I have read the thread, and I am not liking what I am hearing. Just considering all options.

Might, but EK has a five year bond.

Why on earth would you need to go overseas and fly a heavy to be qualified to fly for an ACMI? It's not that hard.

Not from my experience. I spent 3.5 years at EK and came back to a regional. Many others have done the same.

6000 TT
270 Jet PIC
2300 777
3000 CRJ-900
Prior enlisted military

Still haven't heard a word from AA, UAL, DL or even Atlas or JetBlue.

The only experience you will gain at EK is how to live completely fatigued. It honestly took me a full month after returning to feel completely normal again.

Also as others have mentioned:

5 year, $42,000 training bond
EK requires 90 days notice for resignation
Will be very difficult to attend an interview with only 9-10 days off per month and minimum 13hr flight to the US.

Saw my friends roster for August. 101hrs scheduled block!

Think long and hard before joining EK

That sounds utterly vomit-inducing....

I was talking to two EK 777 CAs at a beach resort in Dubai a couple years ago... One was a furlough AA pilot and one was TCN, They waived me off from EK. They recommended staying in the states to benefit from the airline hiring wave coming up, and the fact that you'll benefit from U.S. Employment laws and union protection (they constantly looked over their shoulders the entire discussion and acknlowedged they could be fired for "bad mouthing the company" by having a frank discussion about its pitfalls)...

As much as I enjoy my visits to Dubai, it is a police state... Not some place I want to live my life.