Emirates orders 30 more 777-300ERs

[jonjuan]

I have a feeling that will be stopped by our government. Sure, Brasil may allow it, but granting extra rights to Brasil for a foreign carrier and not giving US carriers extra slots won't be tollerated for very long. The Emirates flights from Brasil may go to places like Narita nonstop, but not to Dallas, Denver, etc. I would think that would be given a big NO.

Bye Bye--General Lee

Maybe, BUT take a guess where A) the current President is from and B) what company is headquarted there that just received an order for $9.1 BILLION? You can bet there's no way that he'll take jobs away from the people of Boeing, right in his hometown. You can also bet that Boeing has better lobby-ists than the ATA. Boeing has already talked with Ray LaHood, IMO. Not good.

 

[Dornier 335]

Sure, with State help I guess anything is possible. Oh wait, I guess Emirates on it's own can afford $50 billion in airplane orders....right. Keep yawning. All Dubai can provide for almost every other airline out there is one city, not a hub transfer point, they don't want a hub in Dubai. So why should other countries allow EK to flu unlimited to their countries when their own airlines only have one or two flights a day to Dubai? That is why Canada, Germany, and France have started the limiting of EK flights. That will probably continue, because other countries have NOTHING to gain by allowing EK to expand into their own countries and take away passengers from their national carriers. Many countries will probably act like Germany---4 cities is enough.

It also depends how much the M.E. is part of your (route) business structure. I see LCCs in Europe like Ryanair, Easyjet and Air Berlin being a bigger problem to AF, LH and BA than EK at the moment.

The few times I have flown EK to DXB and back the flight was *maybe* half full (or empty). I am amazed to see that EK flies (or used to) three times daily to cities like BHX or MAN and even fly into GLA and ABZ. It makes no economic sense. But I guess this is how they measure their manhood down in those parts of the world.

If you do a search on EK on pprune be ready for a lot of negativity. Flight crews seem to work harder than your average work camel.

 

[ACL65PILOT]

They have a ton of lift coming, hope they can continue to fill it.

Also, much of this will be to refurb the fleet. I would be more than happy with my airline buying their used junk.

 

[jonjuan]

Also, much of this will be to refurb the fleet. I would be more than happy with my airline buying their used junk.

Too bad the F/As often seem to come with the aircraft.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122877609256789273.html

DUBAI -- After checking that passengers' seat belts were fastened and the cabin was prepared for takeoff, Alex Rodriguez, a 26-year-old Spaniard and Emirates airline flight attendant, reached into her pocket for a tube of bright red lipstick.

"I retouch it every 15 minutes," she said. "Otherwise, my supervisor will remind me."
Emirates' Glamorous Crew

View Slideshow
[SB122833503491176627]
Farnaz Fassihi/The Wall Street Journal

Emirates flight attendants smile at the ceremony promoting them from economy to business class service.

The global economic slump is just now touching the glittering s************************* of the oil-rich Persian Gulf. But when it comes to the 10,000 flight attendants working for Emirates, the government-owned airline here, Dubai isn't cutting any corners. In an industry in a tailspin in much of the rest of the world, this city-state of man-made island developments, luxury resorts and an indoor ski slope has put some of the glamour back into air travel.

The glamour comes with a price. The airline is a demanding employer, flight attendants say. Tough rules are enforced, including some that would be deemed discriminatory in the West, such as weight requirements and a no-pregnancy policy for unwed women.

The carrier meticulously recruits attractive young men and women from around the world, like Ms. Rodriguez, a brunette with big green eyes and high cheek bones. As part of the airline's standard training, Ms. Rodriguez attended beauty and etiquette training. She's required to keep her makeup fresh, even on long flights. High-heels are a must when she's in uniform, even on the ground. Both men and women are expected to get manicures and facials.

Innocuous onboard flirting is condoned: Emirates' rules require attendants to politely accept a business card or phone number if it's proffered by a passenger. (The airline doesn't require the attendants to call or give out their own numbers, unless they want to.)

The uniform for women -- pillbox hat and beige scarf attached to one side, flowing sideways over the shoulder -- evokes traditional Persian and Turkish attire.

Earlier this month, dozens of uniformed and perfectly made-up Emirates flight attendants greeted and mixed with a star-studded, black-tie crowd, including Charlize Theron and Robert De Niro, at a $20 million grand-opening party for the new Atlantis hotel here.

"Our crew always sticks out," says Ms. Rodriguez.

Many of the airline's recruits are from developing countries in Asia, Eastern Europe and across the Middle East. For them, the airline is a rare ticket to see the world in style, and for women from conservative countries like Iran and Egypt, it's a chance for independence. For many Western airline veterans drawn here, Emirates has so far been a safe haven from the economic storms buffeting the rest of the industry.

Emirates airline crew members head to the airport in Dubai last month.
Tamara Abdul Hadi for The Wall Street Journal

Layovers aren't so bad, either.

"We work hard in the air, but we also party hard when we are on the ground," said Neha Masillamani, a flight attendant from New Delhi, as she got her hair styled and her nails done at a crowded Dubai salon popular with Emirates attendants.

Young, single crew members are paired with roommates and housed in blocks of luxury-apartment towers across Dubai. The night life is reminiscent of college. Ms. Masillamani recalled a recent party at a room in the 21st Century, on Dubai's neon-lighted main strip. Female crew members danced in bikinis while young men sprayed champagne.

At night, flight attendants flock to Zinc, a throbbing night club tucked into the ground floor of the Crowne Plaza hotel here. Male attendants, hair gelled in spikes and sporting tight-fitting designer shirts, earrings and leather necklaces, order pitchers of vodka mixes. The manager of the club estimates up to 70% of its revenue comes from Emirates' crew.

"It's so much fun, like being on a dreamy vacation. They take care of us here," said Jane Park, a 24-year-old from Korea, dressed in a tiny black dress and stiletto heels as she greeted her friends and colleagues.

There are limits. Despite its tolerant attitude toward foreigners, Dubai still harbors a conservative Muslim culture. If a single female attendant shows up pregnant, she's fired. Openly gay male attendants need not apply. Premarital sex and homosexuality are both illegal in Dubai.

"We aren't above the law here," says Kevin Griffiths, Emirates' senior vice president for cabin crew.

On duty, attendants are kept on a short leash.

Crew members aren't allowed to drink in the 12 hours before a flight. Smoking and eating in uniform are prohibited. If an attendant gains too much weight, he or she is put on a diet by the airline's resident nutritionists.

A regulation manual prescribing everything from dress to posture on duty is also clear about the underwear women should have on under their light camel-color skirt and pants: white or beige, and "well fitted."
Young Women Preferred

Emirates draws young recruits. The average age of a flight attendant is 26. By comparison, the average age of an attendant on a U.S. flight is in the mid-40s, according to a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants. According to the union's statistics, just 12% of members in the U. S. are under 30.

Emirates also prefers women to men: Seventy-five percent of total flight crew must be female.

"It's a little stifling," says a 25-year-old European female attendant, who asked not to be named. "We are human beings, not just a marketing tool."

Emirates hasn't been immune to the current global economic downturn. The airlines posted an 88% drop in first half-year profit last month. But Valerie Tan, a company spokeswoman, said it is hiring more attendants to staff new routes to North and South America. And new planes are on order.

In the past 12 months, the airline says, it received 93,079 flight-attendant applications. Using photos, interviews, psychological profiling and group sessions with candidates, executives hire just 6% of job seekers. Recruiters hunt for promising hires around the world.

In some countries, applicants are put on a scale and weighed. (The practice is against the law in many Western countries because it's considered discriminatory, according to the company.)

After a six-week training course at Emirates headquarters near Dubai's sprawling airport, the airline graduates about 90 new flight attendants per week.
Less Pay, More Fun

Michael Miller, a 29-year-old from Miami, has flown with Southwest Airlines Co. and JetBlue Airways Corp. He says Emirates pays less than his former employers, but the perks and lifestyle are better.

Emirates also offers free living accommodations and transport to and from work. Married personnel are offered either company housing or generous housing stipends. The crew also gets up to 50% off at local bars, restaurants and health clubs.

Emirates' routes -- including nonstop flights to Los Angeles and São Paulo -- beat the U.S. domestic circuit, where most young American attendants wind up. And Emirates puts its attendants up at luxury hotels and gives them generous per diem allowances while traveling.

"I would have to fly 30 years in the U.S. before I could travel like this," says a bronzed Mr. Miller, lounging with a blonde colleague at the rooftop pool of one of Emirates' high-rise apartment towers. "There is no comparison to what we get here," he said.

 

[johnsonrod]

Maybe, BUT take a guess where A) the current President is from and B) what company is headquarted there that just received an order for $9.1 BILLION? You can bet there's no way that he'll take jobs away from the people of Boeing, right in his hometown. You can also bet that Boeing has better lobby-ists than the ATA. Boeing has already talked with Ray LaHood, IMO. Not good.

You are really going for it here. None of that is for sure. Obama is from Dubai? And didn't Airbus just get an additional $11 billion order fro EK also? Looks like France and Germany (where Airbus is made) are closing the door to new EK expansion. So, all of the new Airbus EK planes will be flying to every large US city? A lot of what you are guessing at is just that, a guess.

 

[Full of LUV]

EK's commercial side seems to know what they are doing so far, I'm sure they would love to go head to head with the "mighty" Delta. yawns

Don't mistake with paying $0.25/gallon for gas as "knowing what they are doing so far". Orders are orders, and there is a race on in the ME to have the biggest most expansive airline in not only the region but the world. EK is ahead of Qatar air / Gulf Air and a host of others, but they are all adding capacity to the point where any normal bill paying airline would have succumbed to debt death, but when you are privately held by the Emirates, only they know the books!

 

[General Lee]

Don't mistake with paying $0.25/gallon for gas as "knowing what they are doing so far". Orders are orders, and there is a race on in the ME to have the biggest most expansive airline in not only the region but the world. EK is ahead of Qatar air / Gulf Air and a host of others, but they are all adding capacity to the point where any normal bill paying airline would have succumbed to debt death, but when you are privately held by the Emirates, only they know the books!

And that is what will eventually bite them in the royal arse! Other Governments will get wise to this (like Germany, France, and Canada have) and limit the amount of flights in and out of their countries, to try to protect their own airlines and local employment.(constituents) You may see a couple EK A380s here and there, but it is doubtful you will see a lot everywhere, other than Dubai that is.......We'll see I guess...


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[BILL LUMBERG]

The Emirate of Dubai has problems. Abu Dhabi will compete with them and will try to measure up their little peckers and then it'll be too late.....

Anybody see the real estate problems there now?? Not worried.....besides, they think they can muscle around the governments by placing orders....good luck with that!

 

[Lear70]

If Emirates ever opened a U.S. base, they'd have no problem getting highly-experienced pilots for a long time to come.

Whenever hiring picks up in the U.S., Emirates has a *VERY* hard time recruiting. Right now they're having to lower their mins to get people in the door (running recruiting sessions throughout the U.S. right now). When retirements pick up in 2012 and the Legacies have to start recruiting 600-900 pilots a year, the RJ folks won't want to go to Dubai - they'll wait for a U.S. Legacy, and Emirates will start getting *REALLY* desperate for pilots.

I'm betting we'll see a large change in Emirates' hiring / pay / QOL in a couple years because of it. I also bet JonJuan is right, and Obama and administration will attempt to relax restrictions for Emirates here in the U.S. I'm SOLIDLY against such a relaxation, but I can see the writing on the wall...

Time will tell...

 

[Lear70]

Moderator hat on:

Knock it off with the pure mud-slinging, especially sexual-based comments. Further infractions will get you a few days off...

/mod