Emirates Update

[typhoonpilot]

In Sharjah itself I would go to the Blue Souk for shopping. It is one of the better places to buy carpets. The Corniche in Sharjah is quite nice as well. I haven't been, but Sharjah has a few good musuems as well. The nice thing about Sharjah is that it is a quick twenty minute drive over to Dubai. If you come over to Dubai go to the Wafi Center Mall where the Dubai tour bus originates. They have a fairly decent tour of the city from double decker buses. The tour includes the Gold Souk, Jumeirah Mosque, old fort, old palace, the creek, and creekside park. You could easily spend most of the day doing that as it is a hop on - hop off type of bus tour. There are good public beaches in Dubai, not sure about Sharjah. Just down from the Jumeirah Mosque is the Jumeirah Beach. If you get a rental car you could drive out to the Palm Sales Office on the beach road. That is interesting to see. Out that way as well is Wild Wadi, a waterpark and the Burj Al Arab ( world's most exclusive hotel ).

If you are interested in day or evening tours a company called Arabian Adventures does tours out to the desert for 4 wheel drive type stuff or the more toursity Arabian dinner out in the sand dunes. They have a web site.

I'm actually back in the States until early November otherwise I could have met up with you.

Oh, if you want to drink you have to go to Dubai since Sharjah is a dry Emirate.


Typhoonpilot

 

[Alaskaairlines]

Do you guys have pilots that commute from the US? Is 55k a year worth flying for Emirates and living over there? Whats there currency like compared to the US?

 

[Dieterly]

Well, 55k is 55k.

 

[GCD]

Typhoon,

My trip has changed. I will be staying in DXB from the 27th of Oct through the 31st. I'll be back in DXB on the 3rd Nov, and deadhead out on the 4th on EK 45 from DXB to FRA.

 

[typhoonpilot]

Dieterly:

Actually 55K can be very different from country to country if you look at taxes involved. In the case of Emirates, or the UAE in particular you pay no income tax on that 55K. So I would ask, how much would you have to earn in the United States to pocket 55K ? Add to that free housing and utilities and the Emirates package is worth well over 100K equivalent in the USA.

Typhoonpilot

 

[ghostrider]

Emirates Hiring Criteria

Hello Typhoonpilot.

As you seem to be the resident authority on Emirates can you shed some light on what the competitive or rather the realistic hiring criteria are at Emirates. Considering the vast pool of highly qualified and experienced captains out there with thousands of hours of 'heavy' time is Emirates really looking at others such as regional pilots? I am aware of the official requirements as posted on the website's career link. Secondly is Emirates indicating a preference towards British trained pilots?

Thanks

 

[typhoonpilot]

Hi Ghostrider:

I can't answer your question with anything other than my own perceptions but it would appear that Emirates is still in a position to be a little picky on who they are selecting. That seems to be guys with fairly high time ( over 5000 ) and either narrow body command or good widebody F.O. experience. There are always exceptions to that and they do hire a fair number of guys who have never had a jet command but have good f.o. time on newer narrow body jets. They can do short course programs on people who are currrent within one year on Airbus 340/330/320 as well as Boeing 747, 777, 757, 767, and 737NG. That makes guys who fit that criteria float to the top of the call list for interviews.

There has to be a point where they shift to a little less concern over guys who can make captain in three years because that isn't going to continue indefinitely. At that time, which should be within the next year, they will probably start looking at lower time guys down to the minimum requirements. It really is supply and demand and right now the supply is quite high.

I wish I had better news because I have a very good friend with time and experience very near yours and he would be great at Emirates. I think that guys like you would be more willing to sit right seat for five to seven years before an upgrade versus former A-320 captains. Once Emirates gets over 1000 pilots the upgrades will start heading into that time frame versus the current three. That is my opinion based on the total fleet growth.

Emirates doesn't seem to have a preference for any one group. They try to keep a balance and right now Americans are in favor since there are so few of us.

Typhoonpilot

 

[ghostrider]

Emirates Hiring Criteria

Hello again, Typhoonpilot.

Thanks for your time and the info you have provided. It was very valuable and pretty much matched what I had expected. You are absolutely correct: I wouldn't mind at all sitting FO for 5 or so years. Given my current perspective an FO position on a heavy with EK and all its associated perks do look very appealing. One more question. How do Americans deal with the taxation issues as the US taxes on citizenship rather than residence. Any 'legal' ways around that?

Ghostrider

 

[501261]

Dieterly:

Actually 55K can be very different from country to country if you look at taxes involved. In the case of Emirates, or the UAE in particular you pay no income tax on that 55K. So I would ask, how much would you have to earn in the United States to pocket 55K ? Add to that free housing and utilities and the Emirates package is worth well over 100K equivalent in the USA.

I have to agree with Typhoon, 55K a year tax free is not too shabby! According to my contract I make well over 6 figures (USD), yet after you get done with income tax, Social Security, Medicare, State Income, State disability, insurance, and dental. I bring home less than 55K a year, throw in another 3K per month in mortgage payments and a car payment, that Emirates package is pretty dang attractive!

Ghostrider, you asked about taxation issues. I believe as an expatriate the first 80K you make outside the US is tax-free; however as an ex-patriot you can only “visit” the US for 30 days a year. If you come home for more than 30 days your income will be taxed like normal. There used to be ways around this, like flying into Canada or Mexico and walking across the border (thus no record of you being in the US). Though I’m sure much of this has changed as all this is pre 9/11 information.

 

[typhoonpilot]

501261 and Ghostrider:

The answer to the question on taxation by 501 is pretty close. The exact IRS code you want to look at is the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. There are two ways to qualify for it; one is to be resident of another country for at least one full calendar year, the second ( as 501261 alluded to ) is to be in another country or countries outside of the USA for 330 days out of 365. The advantage of being resident in another country is that there is no technical limit on the number of days you may spend in the USA. That said, it is wise to keep it to a minimum and not push the IRS to look too closely. As a resident of Dubai with 42 days of vacation per year it isn't unrealistic to spend all 42 days in the USA and still qualify under the residency test, but the IRS would probably frown on much more than that.

Typhoonpilot

 

[Gumby]

Wondering...

Hey Typhoon...I need to jump in quickly....You say that you are furloughed in the US? I have a buddy at UAL who is a hair away from getting furloughed and was looking into EK. It sounds like you've had a really good experience there. How long have you been there? How are the majority of crews to fly with, and the FA's?
Thanks...

 

[ghostrider]

taxes and so on...

501261 & Tyhoonpilot.

Thanks guys for the info. The 80K exemption and the foreign residence 'workaround' is actually pretty good news as I was initially told that the US can tax no matter where you reside, as long as you own a US Passport. That makes the deal pretty attractive. It would have been a real clincher to 'only' make 55K --albeit tax free-- and then to turn around and get 'bled' by Uncle Sam. In spite of the perks it would have made the deal far less attractive. Thanks again. If, and hopefully when the time comes I'll definitely explore the above options.

Ghostrider

 

[typhoonpilot]

Hi Gumby:

Yep, I am furloughed USeless Airways. Not going back ever again either. I was furloughed 7 years and 3 months the first time and made the mistake of leaving a good job at Boeing to go back in 98. Went back for the pension, oops, what pension

Emirates requires seniority resignation which wasn't a big issue for me, but could be for some who think that their major will recover.

The crews are very good to fly with and the F.A.s are okay.

If your buddy is serious he needs to start right away with an application because it takes about a year from app to class date. I applied right after 9-11 and it took me over a year from app to class in January this year. That time frame may be quicker for some but that has been pretty typcial so far.

Ghostrider:

Just a little more clarification on the tax issue for U.S. Citizens. You must still file an income tax return on your worldwide income. That is what some people confuse with having to pay on your worldwide income. With the $80,000 Foreign Earned Income Exclusion plus what ever other deductions you can come up with you should be able to make more than 90,000 and even upwards of 100,000 before having to pay any Federal Income Tax.

Typhoonpilot

 

[Gumby]

Ek..

Great Typhoon...Thanks for the info...

 

[Alaskaairlines]

Was your Boeing job a flying job? Couldn't imagine a better job than flying for Boeing in the BBJ! Or is that jus me?