dually:
First to answer your questions.
#1 already answered
#2 A bond is an agreement that you sign similar to a training contract. If you are working in the USA it is highly unlikely that you are bonded. Emirates has a three year bond for $36,000. Which means that if you leave within three years of final line check then you owe them a prorated amount of that money.
#3 The reason that they make a difference between the 737-200 and -300 is because of an arbitrary weight qualification used in determining upgrade candidates. The wanted to eliminate Bae-146 captains from fast track command potential and set a weight limit of 55 Tonnes. The 737-200 comes in under that weight limit while the -300 is over it. So keep them separate.
Some corrections to Land Green's statements. Direct Entry commands are presently being offered for pilots with 10,000 hours total time and 3000 PIC in jets over 55 tonnes. More realistically though they are only interviewing very highly qualified guys with either time in type or command time in the Airbus 320. They may be intervewing some 737 Efis or NG skippers as well but I haven't heard of any. More likely 767/757, A-320, A-300, B747.
I don't disagree that the recruitment team puts on a good show for interviewees, but what airline doesn't ? I also don't disagree that the time to upgrade for new hires is going to be significantly longer if they maintain the direct entry program. I estimate a new hire today would take 5 to 7 years to get to the left seat. Still not bad for a widebody command in the big scheme of things. If we do away with the direct entry program then it could be faster but the airline has reached that critical point in the growth where it is going to slow down regardless of direct entry or not.
It isn't necessary to pay for an upgrade to acceptable accomodations for most people. True some guys got stuck in less than stellar places but most have a decent place to live. I live in a 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath flat on the 33rd story of a highrise that has a nice gym on the 36th floor and a pool on the roof. My wife and I are quite happy with it. If you have kids then they provide a villa and some of the recent ones are quite big. It isn't the States but nor is it Asia so it is all kind of relative. They are much bigger than anything you could get in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei, or Japan but maybe a little smaller than what you are used to in the States.
Should you have the misfortune of having a Rolls Silver Spur cross three lanes of traffic and hit you in your Land Cruiser, it WILL be your fault.
Actually a friend of mine had her car hit in the parking lot of a grocery store by a Mercedes that had somehow managed to cross over multiple lanes and a sidewalk and it was the Mercedes drivers fault. While your example does have some truth to it that isn't always the case and their is a known technique to combat having something that is clearly not your fault blamed on you.
What is also fact is that Etihad is gaining many pilots while Emirates is losing them.........plus that's where the real money is.
I am actually advising my friends that Etihad is the better place to go right now but mostly for the upgrade potential. They are a small airline with ambitious plans and the backing of the Abu Dhabi royal family. Still Abu Dhabi isn't as nice a place to live as Dubai and is actually much more expensive for accomodation if you leave the company provided villas. It has been rumored that 3 pilots resigned this week, two heading for a training gig with Singapore Airlines and one to Dragonair. Not sure if it is true though. Kinda hoping that more will resign because then the airline will be forced to really review the compensation level which is a tad low.
Definitely a lot of hookers in Dubai but it is hardly the economic driver for the city. With that I better go now.
Typhoonpilot
