EK wives - roster query

Rickadon & Siennachick, great posts... Ok , " if you don't like it , there's the door " ... Doesn't work in the aviation industry . If a senior Captain who has been here for let's say 10 years , leaves , he will more than likely go back to a First officer . Reduction in salary , i do know some pilots who are happy with this . Not all companies will hire a senior captain as a captain. Pilots spent years and years training to be captains , and they have extremely rigourous and complicated checks regularly , it's not just a case of putting on the uniform ... So with mortgage , credit cards , car loan , personal loan and kids at school it's not an easy decision to make. I too would love to know where all the fantastic places are that give us 50% off.... I've not seen any recently. I'm sure if there was another company , where the pilots could work less hours , on a commuting roster , on the same pay , then more would leave .

Well said Rickadon!!! We have been here 11 years, appreciate everything we have, always will. Just a few years ago the Pilots were doing on average 65 hours a month flight time (different to work time) now they do 95 to 100 hours flight time a month, over time was cut from there pay so effectively they got a pay cut, you now have to work 90 hours to get overtime. Would your husband be happy with that? Keep in mind they fly nights while your husband is tucked up in bed and gets a full nights rest, keep in mind the Pilots are constantly exhausted with jet lag (again part of the job) however when we signed up it was 65 hours flight time and more days to recover from the jet lag. You try flying to Sydney and back with 24 hours rest come back have 2 "days off" and fly to Europe and the cycle begins yes we know they are International Pilots but again there days off have halved and hours doubled for the same pay effectively. Keep in mind we signed a contract which is constantly changed without consent. There are many positives about working for Emirates, yes we get staff travel, I see that as a privilege and not a right, I appreciate that so very much, yes we get a percentage of our school fee's paid however that is part of our salary package, yes we get accommodation again part of our salary package. No one is disputing any of this. There are on average 3 pilots resigning a week, I am talking highly qualified with a huge amount of hours and experience that are going to other airlines, Emirates loss. The reason, exhaustion, frustration, lack of days of to spend with family and ever changing rules. Have you ever had to deal with a husband that is so jetlaged and exhausted that he can barely string 2 words together and when he is home his one day a week he is either studying for his sim exam (yes thats right they have sim exams and if you fail twice you get fired) or doing errands we can't do as wives as everything is in his name. Never used to be like this, that is what they whinge about!!! Not about stupid discounts and whether our backyards are the size of a car! We want just what we signed up for. It is ok if you sit in a air conditioned office and have an hours lunch break everyday and get a full nights sleep every single night. Try flying thru monsoons, storms, ice storms, war zones, in the middle of the night when you have had barely enough sleep to drive a car safely, try being responsible for 400 people. After flying thru the night, try landing and then having a 2 hour bus ride in peak traffic in Moscow, yep being going now for about 12 hours, you then get to your hotel and try to find familiar food and count how many hours you can sleep before doing it all over again. Again yes life of a Pilot, but what we are saying is it is not all 50% discounts at everywhere in Dubai (wish I knew this as this is news to me) we are saying our husbands and Pilots are exhausted and have had enough and in answer to your question, yes we are leaving, yes our friends are leaving as we can't possibly live like this for the next however many years. Why would we put up with living in the Middle East away from family, friends etc when we can get better contracts in our home country. Before you jump down my throat, think about the last time your husband missed 8 nights sleep for his job, when did he have to sit a 2 day exam once a year to keep his job, when did he have to pass a medical once a year to keep his job, when was the last time he missed family gatherings, Christmas, Easter, anniversary's and everyones Birthdays? When was the last time your husband was so exhausted that he fell asleep in the school car park picking his kids up from school as he had'nt seen them in 9 days! Yes we will "jog along now" We are to fly Emiretts in 18 days I'm already a nervous flyrt now i am crapping myself after reading this You will be fine, sit back, have a drink or two, watch a film and enjoy it. :-)

Well said Rickadon!!! We have been here 11 years, appreciate everything we have, always will. Just a few years ago the Pilots were doing on average 65 hours a month flight time (different to work time) now they do 95 to 100 hours flight time a month, over time was cut from there pay so effectively they got a pay cut, you now have to work 90 hours to get overtime. Would your husband be happy with that? Keep in mind they fly nights while your husband is tucked up in bed and gets a full nights rest, keep in mind the Pilots are constantly exhausted with jet lag (again part of the job) however when we signed up it was 65 hours flight time and more days to recover from the jet lag. You try flying to Sydney and back with 24 hours rest come back have 2 "days off" and fly to Europe and the cycle begins yes we know they are International Pilots but again there days off have halved and hours doubled for the same pay effectively. Keep in mind we signed a contract which is constantly changed without consent. There are many positives about working for Emirates, yes we get staff travel, I see that as a privilege and not a right, I appreciate that so very much, yes we get a percentage of our school fee's paid however that is part of our salary package, yes we get accommodation again part of our salary package. No one is disputing any of this. There are on average 3 pilots resigning a week, I am talking highly qualified with a huge amount of hours and experience that are going to other airlines, Emirates loss. The reason, exhaustion, frustration, lack of days of to spend with family and ever changing rules. Have you ever had to deal with a husband that is so jetlaged and exhausted that he can barely string 2 words together and when he is home his one day a week he is either studying for his sim exam (yes thats right they have sim exams and if you fail twice you get fired) or doing errands we can't do as wives as everything is in his name. Never used to be like this, that is what they whinge about!!! Not about stupid discounts and whether our backyards are the size of a car! We want just what we signed up for. It is ok if you sit in a air conditioned office and have an hours lunch break everyday and get a full nights sleep every single night. Try flying thru monsoons, storms, ice storms, war zones, in the middle of the night when you have had barely enough sleep to drive a car safely, try being responsible for 400 people. After flying thru the night, try landing and then having a 2 hour bus ride in peak traffic in Moscow, yep being going now for about 12 hours, you then get to your hotel and try to find familiar food and count how many hours you can sleep before doing it all over again. Again yes life of a Pilot, but what we are saying is it is not all 50% discounts at everywhere in Dubai (wish I knew this as this is news to me) we are saying our husbands and Pilots are exhausted and have had enough and in answer to your question, yes we are leaving, yes our friends are leaving as we can't possibly live like this for the next however many years. Why would we put up with living in the Middle East away from family, friends etc when we can get better contracts in our home country. Before you jump down my throat, think about the last time your husband missed 8 nights sleep for his job, when did he have to sit a 2 day exam once a year to keep his job, when did he have to pass a medical once a year to keep his job, when was the last time he missed family gatherings, Christmas, Easter, anniversary's and everyones Birthdays? When was the last time your husband was so exhausted that he fell asleep in the school car park picking his kids up from school as he had'nt seen them in 9 days! Yes we will "jog along now" We are to fly Emiretts in 18 days I'm already a nervous flyrt now i am crapping myself after reading this

I wouldn't want to fly Emirates after having read this thread! No worries AnonDubai these comments will get deleted so the facade will continue

I wouldn't want to fly Emirates after having read this thread!

Well said Rickadon!!! We have been here 11 years, appreciate everything we have, always will. Just a few years ago the Pilots were doing on average 65 hours a month flight time (different to work time) now they do 95 to 100 hours flight time a month, over time was cut from there pay so effectively they got a pay cut, you now have to work 90 hours to get overtime. Would your husband be happy with that? Keep in mind they fly nights while your husband is tucked up in bed and gets a full nights rest, keep in mind the Pilots are constantly exhausted with jet lag (again part of the job) however when we signed up it was 65 hours flight time and more days to recover from the jet lag. You try flying to Sydney and back with 24 hours rest come back have 2 "days off" and fly to Europe and the cycle begins yes we know they are International Pilots but again there days off have halved and hours doubled for the same pay effectively. Keep in mind we signed a contract which is constantly changed without consent. There are many positives about working for Emirates, yes we get staff travel, I see that as a privilege and not a right, I appreciate that so very much, yes we get a percentage of our school fee's paid however that is part of our salary package, yes we get accommodation again part of our salary package. No one is disputing any of this. There are on average 3 pilots resigning a week, I am talking highly qualified with a huge amount of hours and experience that are going to other airlines, Emirates loss. The reason, exhaustion, frustration, lack of days of to spend with family and ever changing rules. Have you ever had to deal with a husband that is so jetlaged and exhausted that he can barely string 2 words together and when he is home his one day a week he is either studying for his sim exam (yes thats right they have sim exams and if you fail twice you get fired) or doing errands we can't do as wives as everything is in his name. Never used to be like this, that is what they whinge about!!! Not about stupid discounts and whether our backyards are the size of a car! We want just what we signed up for. It is ok if you sit in a air conditioned office and have an hours lunch break everyday and get a full nights sleep every single night. Try flying thru monsoons, storms, ice storms, war zones, in the middle of the night when you have had barely enough sleep to drive a car safely, try being responsible for 400 people. After flying thru the night, try landing and then having a 2 hour bus ride in peak traffic in Moscow, yep being going now for about 12 hours, you then get to your hotel and try to find familiar food and count how many hours you can sleep before doing it all over again. Again yes life of a Pilot, but what we are saying is it is not all 50% discounts at everywhere in Dubai (wish I knew this as this is news to me) we are saying our husbands and Pilots are exhausted and have had enough and in answer to your question, yes we are leaving, yes our friends are leaving as we can't possibly live like this for the next however many years. Why would we put up with living in the Middle East away from family, friends etc when we can get better contracts in our home country. Before you jump down my throat, think about the last time your husband missed 8 nights sleep for his job, when did he have to sit a 2 day exam once a year to keep his job, when did he have to pass a medical once a year to keep his job, when was the last time he missed family gatherings, Christmas, Easter, anniversary's and everyones Birthdays? When was the last time your husband was so exhausted that he fell asleep in the school car park picking his kids up from school as he had'nt seen them in 9 days! Yes we will "jog along now"

Ok so from an EK wife that isn't drinking the Koolaid We have been her 9+ years loved most of it struggled with some of it but know that no where is perfect. Things have changed a lot in the last few years that make most EK pilots frustrated. My hubby still loves the job but is tired of being made to feel unappreciated (will probably get deleted again). The annoying things are harder to take when you are this far away from home and can't get time off together to be a family I know my children, and us, will benefit greatly from our time here, and already have, but as I have mentioned before this is not the Utopia some like to make people think. Dubai has it's issues as do most places in the world. Here a lot of things are hidden and swept under the carpet. There is a lot more going on than we know. It is getting more expensive to live and on the radio today they have announced that there will be a VAT phased in starting in 2018. A lot of the oil rich countries are realizing they need to do something else to add to make money to run their countries to the standards they have become use to. Just a few clarifications though, [i'>Ooopsiedaisy[/i'> we DO NOT get 50% off everywhere we go, staff travel is not as cheap as one would expect considering the seat would go empty (no revenue at all), we don't get eye coverage at all (not even the pilots), we are dictated where to live (most are ok with this, but still not our choice), EK does not pay 100% of school fees and bus fees (yes may not pay as much out of pocket as some but the assumption that we get EVERYTHING covered is a lie). We don't arrive in Dubai with a driver, a maid and an unlimited bank account as many assume, the staff work hard for the things they get. Remember these things are part of the renumeration package we signed on and if given the opportunity you would too and would expect it to be maintained to that standard. At the end of the day it isn't our fault and nor should we be made to feel guilty about what we get with the EK package. There are things we were promised in the package that are no longer being followed through with. As was mentioned our discount cards, WE pay for them every month. So if you want to do the leg work to organize a big group of people here in Dubai you too get get these benefits. Back to the[b'> OP's[/b'> questions most months will be min days off which is 8 or 9, the 777 guys are doing more and more of the turns (day/evening ones are ok it is the night ones that are a struggle). My hubby seems to be away most weekends then will get the odd month he is home every weekend. They can go east and then west one trip right after another, so are often tired from this. As is any experience it it what you make of it

Well no one has answered why there are still here so most likely thier husbands are not that miserable here and are staying The EK wives I do know are lovely and welcoming. Most of all very appreciative of the experience and benefits they are part of.

OMG! Why is everyone so negative on here? Like others have said, if it is so bad then do something about it and move on. Life is too short to be miserable. Ultimately life and your happiness is what you make of it. Look at things with a positive frame of mind, smile and enjoy your surroundings, friends and work colleagues. There are many, many people much worse of than you.

I only know the one Emirates pilot's wife and she is absolutely lovely which I'm glad about - would hate to think they're all like the ones on this thread..Honestly, as Blondie says, if it's so terrible why are your husband's not looking for work with other airlines ? And if SQ is correct they'll be needing to eventually anyway !!

No one has answered the question~ why are you still here if it's that aweful ? Numerous airlines are recruiting

If it is that terrible why are those of you who are so miserable still here ? I am sincerely asking as I am unfamiliar with the contracts , etc. Can't you relocate to your home countries ? Asia? Many airlines are hiring. It just does not seem worth it to be so miserable Yes it makes us wonder, seriously. I knew that the EK cabin crew leave a lot to be desired these days but the pilots and families don't like the terms here, like seriously, jog along. Good news is that soon they will replace all expat pilots with Emiratis. I presume this is your attempt at sarcasam? Maroosh is that you under a different user name?? hahahaha, clearly you have NO idea what you are talking about and clearly not a Pilot or married to one. Funniest post I have seen in a long time. No need to go to pprune as this thread is way better! ;)

I always love threads where Emirates staff and spouses roll over each other to complain. They pay half price at most outlets in Dubai, fly cheap, still get housing whereas most of us don't etc. etc. Thanks You SueB for putting it all in perspective! Pay 10-40 % off at a number of outlets, not "half price at most outlets in Dubai"... because of a plan that [b'>they [/b'>pay into monthly. Out of their own pockets. Any large group of people could get together and arrange the same thing.

I always love threads where Emirates staff and spouses roll over each other to complain. They pay half price at most outlets in Dubai, fly cheap, still get housing whereas most of us don't etc. etc. Thanks You SueB for putting it all in perspective!

If it is that terrible why are those of you who are so miserable still here ? I am sincerely asking as I am unfamiliar with the contracts , etc. Can't you relocate to your home countries ? Asia? Many airlines are hiring. It just does not seem worth it to be so miserable Yes it makes us wonder, seriously. I knew that the EK cabin crew leave a lot to be desired these days but the pilots and families don't like the terms here, like seriously, jog along. Good news is that soon they will replace all expat pilots with Emiratis. I presume this is your attempt at sarcasam? Maroosh is that you under a different user name?? hahahaha, clearly you have NO idea what you are talking about and clearly not a Pilot or married to one. Funniest post I have seen in a long time. No need to go to pprune as this thread is way better! Err no, not Maroosh. Clearly you don't know anything about me. What is so funny?

It depends which department. Some department is 3 days on 3 days off but usually called for ot. Some are 2 morning 2 nights. Or office hours. In her original post she mentions he is on the 777 and wants to know days away etc....so presume he is a Pilot not a office worker.

It depends which department. Some department is 3 days on 3 days off but usually called for ot. Some are 2 morning 2 nights. Or office hours.

If it is that terrible why are those of you who are so miserable still here ? I am sincerely asking as I am unfamiliar with the contracts , etc. Can't you relocate to your home countries ? Asia? Many airlines are hiring. It just does not seem worth it to be so miserable Yes it makes us wonder, seriously. I knew that the EK cabin crew leave a lot to be desired these days but the pilots and families don't like the terms here, like seriously, jog along. Good news is that soon they will replace all expat pilots with Emiratis. I presume this is your attempt at sarcasam? Maroosh is that you under a different user name?? hahahaha, clearly you have NO idea what you are talking about and clearly not a Pilot or married to one. Funniest post I have seen in a long time. No need to go to pprune as this thread is way better!

If it is that terrible why are those of you who are so miserable still here ? I am sincerely asking as I am unfamiliar with the contracts , etc. Can't you relocate to your home countries ? Asia? Many airlines are hiring. It just does not seem worth it to be so miserable Yes it makes us wonder, seriously. I knew that the EK cabin crew leave a lot to be desired these days but the pilots and families don't like the terms here, like seriously, jog along. Good news is that soon they will replace all expat pilots with Emiratis.

If it is that terrible why are those of you who are so miserable still here ? I am sincerely asking as I am unfamiliar with the contracts , etc. Can't you relocate to your home countries ? Asia? Many airlines are hiring. It just does not seem worth it to be so miserable

Blimey...this is an eye-opener !!:lol: Yes really! Take your life in your hands every day as you drive back and forth between your labor camp and that terrible job....oh:cry:

Blimey...this is an eye-opener !!:lol:

sorry, quite smoking 7 years ago lol.....feel being positive makes you feel a whole lot better than living under the angry cloud. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change The courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. I learned that long ago when I most needed it. It has always worked for me. So, there is my smoke Different perspectives people. Glass half empty or half full. Change it if you can. If you cant work with what you have and make it work. I do not take my life in my hands with Idrive here any more than driving in Montreal 30 years ago, or any huge city. Breath in breath out.

Holy Cow Ladies. Why are you all still here??? There are a whole lot of us who are happy here. We married pilots. Missing important times is the norm, always, shift work for heavens sakes. You signed on. Emirates is short of pilots right now. The 380 fleet has taken the Jam trips and the 777 is the workhorse of the airline so thats what they do... Air time. Max is 900 hrs a year, just like Europe. And fyi, in Canada it is 1,000hrs/hr.....24/7 operation here in Dubai. Meydan accommodation. I have been in them. It is not like a labour camp! went to a party at 'Motown'!! or really called Meydan south. So far the 1st 30 OLD PEOPLE have moved in and most are fine. Yes it is different but the area will grow quickly. Look at what people said about Silicon when they moved there!!! btw, the kitchens in 'Motown' are happy about the huge kitchens compared to what they came from. They seem to be very philosophical about the whole thing. Another excitment I guess. Sure as **** not labour camps for heavens sakes. Driving you get used to..no problem. What seemed like a long way eventually is no problem. I guess you have to ask your husband why he wants to come here. I certainly would not get stuck on pprune. As for planning, we have christmas when he gets home. Until we moved here he never had holidays in the summer. One year we spread out christmas out over 5 days lol....we holiday without him and he joins us. We try hard to be positive rather than live with this huge black cloud over our heads.. If we did that we would be so crippled by anger we would just have to leave :(..... So come. It is not a life sentence. You are not committing yourself to years of horrid living and livingin a slum.....If you are given a bunch of lemons....make the best lemonade you ever made. Make the best of what you have and run with it.!!!! Jump and Arm Pump . I have to add. If you start hanging with negative people you will eventually be pulled in. Find positive people who can work around things.....Look on the bright side of life!!! SueB, please tell what you're smoking so others can have a drag as well :biggrin:

OP do your research, this isn't the best place nor probably the worse depending on where you are coming from. Some of these posts will deleted by the am. I had two posts from yesterday deleted, only because I was honest about flying hours (love being censored). Some will drink the Koolaid and some are very disillusioned. This is not the utopia that you will be lead to believe it is by some. Anywhere is what you make it but when all they guys are flying like crazy and can't a day off together it can be tough to do things. The Meydan Heights do look like Council or low income housing from the outside, sorry but it is the truth. They are nice inside but when you drive by not exactly a place your are drawn into. Life has changed here over the years, more expensive and such. But at the end of the day it is choosing to live with what you 'can live with or without'. Driving, you don't get use to it, you have to tolerate it. Two totally different things. No one gets use to taking their life in their hands every time they go somewhere. And yes it can be that bad.

Holy Cow Ladies. Why are you all still here??? There are a whole lot of us who are happy here. We married pilots. Missing important times is the norm, always, shift work for heavens sakes. You signed on. Emirates is short of pilots right now. The 380 fleet has taken the Jam trips and the 777 is the workhorse of the airline so thats what they do... Air time. Max is 900 hrs a year, just like Europe. And fyi, in Canada it is 1,000hrs/hr.....24/7 operation here in Dubai. Meydan accommodation. I have been in them. It is not like a labour camp! went to a party at 'Motown'!! or really called Meydan south. So far the 1st 30 OLD PEOPLE have moved in and most are fine. Yes it is different but the area will grow quickly. Look at what people said about Silicon when they moved there!!! btw, the kitchens in 'Motown' are happy about the huge kitchens compared to what they came from. They seem to be very philosophical about the whole thing. Another excitment I guess. Sure as **** not labour camps for heavens sakes. Driving you get used to..no problem. What seemed like a long way eventually is no problem. I guess you have to ask your husband why he wants to come here. I certainly would not get stuck on pprune. As for planning, we have christmas when he gets home. Until we moved here he never had holidays in the summer. One year we spread out christmas out over 5 days lol....we holiday without him and he joins us. We try hard to be positive rather than live with this huge black cloud over our heads.. If we did that we would be so crippled by anger we would just have to leave :(..... So come. It is not a life sentence. You are not committing yourself to years of horrid living and livingin a slum.....If you are given a bunch of lemons....make the best lemonade you ever made. Make the best of what you have and run with it.!!!! Jump and Arm Pump . I have to add. If you start hanging with negative people you will eventually be pulled in. Find positive people who can work around things.....Look on the bright side of life!!!

For the month of June my husband (777) was home 8 days......no peak leave and actually only got 5 days leave, in October which is useless....what do you do with 5 days leave when your home country is 14 hours away and you have to be back in Dubai to be back on the local time zone I think at least 24 hours before your flight!!! My advice and we have been here 11 years....dont come! Emirates really need to get there act together about how they treat there Pilots, they treat there Managers very well....Pilots not so much. If you go on pprune you will understand, however people always seem to ignore the advice and then whinge about it later. Don't even get me started on accommodation!!!! I am sure you have already made up your mind, good luck and hope whatever you decide you are happy. Oh and another thing, the 777 Pilots (can only speak for them) are constantly jet lagged so when they are home, they sleep, because Dubai is a hub it is mostly night flights. Hi, can you elaborate on the Accomodation side of things. Would really appreciate, husband going for an assessment with EK in just over a week. Thanks

Thank you ladies for your replies. We have looked at pprune and not sure if this going to be a good move....but then again where is aviation is a good move! We have lived in Dubai before and love it and are well aware of the pitfalls, but life is not always greener on the other side. Thank you again ? HI dxbrw. We have just moved earlier on this year to DXB. My hubby is on the 777 roster. So far its been ok. I think its nice as there is a mixture of long haul flights and turn arounds. Average month he has had around 11 days off at home and that does not include rest days or turn around days. With regards to other long-haul airlines in the UK I think the rosters are fine and its just a hazard with the job. as you know. I have been quite happy so far with EK. In the UK it was always just long haul and could be away for a long time. He has only had one very long trip when he was away for 5 days on a SIN-BNE-SIN. There are a couple of long trips like this but he has had 1 in 6 months. Hope this helps I see you are still wearing your Rose Tinted Spectacles Catty! And long may it continue, however I suspect it's only a matter of time until you see things as they really are (perhaps it will be around the point where your husband only gets 50% of his leave for the year, or where month after month you can't plan anything as you only get his roster 7 days before the month starts, or where month after month he works with the minimum legal days off and works the maximum legal flight hours, or where he misses Christmas/birthday/anniversaries, or where you discover there's been a detrimental change to his contract that wasn't publicised...) Thank you Yellowledbetter. But I am not wearing my rose tinted glasses I am just fully aware of what else is on offer. We thought about coming here for 2 years and weigh up every option and to be honest I have had no surprises. I also worked in the aviation industry for 8 years and have seen what the other packages are outside of our home country and for what we wanted and for our lifestyle EK was the best deal for us. Being a pilot no matter what airline you work for unfortunately means there are always occasions/birthdays/weddings/anniversaries/Christmas. you will miss as its shift work and airlines are operational 24 hours a day, everyday! dxdrw- with regards to accommodation it really is pot luck where you get allocated. We were lucky and got put in a great location and so have a couple of others who have moved recently. However some others have been put further out-not the most convenient location-and yes the gardens are small!

In the wonderful Maydan villas! Definitely google these and read the pprune threads. Many oldtimers not happy, newcomers dont have the comparison of old. Gardens the size of a Prado car. And I have heard that no longer able to opt out at the moment due to oversupply of them. Btw, it is spelt Meydan, the above is an in joke spelling.