Ever consider.....

[PHXFLYR]

My bad. I was trying to be a smarta$$ and came across as an arrogant jerk. It's a fine line and looks like I crossed it.

I fully realize that timing is everything and right now SWA is among the lucky ones.

Sorry bro,
Gup

Classy post,Gup ! Nice to see someone on FI stop, stepback for a second, re-think about what he previously posted and apologize for any mis-understanding his post might have caused. Nicely done.

PHXFLYR

 

[ACL65PILOT]

I would have done it a few years ago, but now with a family and a job with a good airline in the US of A there is no way in God's green earth I would do it. Family is more important than a job, and being 6000 miles from your family is just too far away IMHO.

 

[Bjammin]

I would say you have to think very long and hard before joining a foreign airline. If you are the kind of person that thinks America is the "end all, beat all" and everyone else in the world could only learn from us and not the other way around you should stay on our nice, safe soil. If you want to expand your horizons, think outside the box a little, and are open to the possibility of being humbled then go ahead and look across the ponds.
Before anyone pipes up and think I'm not pro Stars and Stripes I think my progession in the millitary from E-1 to O-5 over a 22 career and my time in Iraq should prove otherwise. I have seen many people step on their dicks over here and just add fuel to the fire about us "Ugly Americans". The best way to show our true colors is to be professional, open to critisism, argue only when you can provide clear and intelligent reasoning, and leave your emotions at the door. I defend the States on a regular basis and have truly changed some long standing negitive half-truths among my peers. I fly with aviators from some 30 something nations with backgrounds from African bush pilots, RAF commanders, to an old skipper of Air Force One. I have flown 744's for years and now am in training for the 777. I'm not going to compare pay directly, but I made more my first year then I did as an O-4 over 18 years of service and it has jummped almost 50% since then.
Are there negitives? ABSOLUTLY!!! Long haul is not for everybody, training on the other side of the planet can leave one very homesick, and the standardiztion that's nessesary can seem extremely nit noid.
If you do chose an Asian carrier, I can promise, at the very least, some good stories for the grand kids or your buddies at the watering hole.
My family has seen the world and I spend more time at home then most of my peers at SWA. 6 weeks paid vacation first year helps the wife and kids remember Dad and I can have most any day off I want. I have found a place where the grass just doesn't seem as green anywhere else.
Sorry if this post sounds arrogant, I don't know how to share the positive experiences here and warn certain types against it by sounding any different then the above.

 

[get2flyin]

I have a buddy that was furloughed 2x from USAir and then got to rejoin his former "Friends" after they "merged" with his new company, America West. After going from about 12% off the bottom to 1% off the bottom (his lottery ticket was a winner!) he left and went to Etihad. He was 53 years old and the kid was grown and he figured he needed to "_____" or get off the pot. After 6 months in Abu Dhabi, he had absolutely no regrets about going. He'll upgrade years before his old Cactus peers and with some shrewd financial decision making, should have some money saved up to retire on.

 

[Green]

You wouldn't be talking about the infamous USAirways pilot who was in a Wall Street Journal article a few years ago about how great life is at Emirates.

Go to Pprune to see what other EK line pilots think about the guy. They've nicknamed him "Captain America" and shredded every positive argument he makes about life in DXB.

Life in Dubai is fun. Sure it has its negatives but so does everywhere. If all the guys bitch@ng on pprune were that unhappy then they would leave. People complain about not upgrading to 777 CA in 3 years. They are mad if they have to wait 5. Or they are pissed that the company no longer pays 100% of their utility bills. Sure they have legitimate complaints but all in all life is good. I don't work for EK but I can say that working for a middle east carrier is a viable career option if you don't want to wait years to work your way up the seniority list. 120-170k to start (First Officer pay) and 42 days vacation per year. Not to mention the cabin crew and crew meals are top notch. It's hard to get tired of either of them. The hardest part is dealing with the lack of freedoms, government agencies, and the local contingent...oh and there seems to be a bit of an anti-american bias among expat pilots

 

[G. Costanza]

My bad. I was trying to be a smarta$$ and came across as an arrogant jerk. It's a fine line and looks like I crossed it.

I fully realize that timing is everything and right now SWA is among the lucky ones.

Sorry bro,
Gup

Good on you bro! You guys have the best thing going. I did try my hand at the expat thing for about 6 months, and needless to say I'm happy to be back in the ol USA. I needed and liked the money and flying overseas but I just felt like a million miles from my kid.

 

[atpcliff]

Hi!

Everyone should definitely consider flying overseas, and look into it and compare it what is available at home.

For some people, overseas works well, and for others, it is a non-starter.

For me, overseas with decent pay was better than unemployment and losing our house. Everything else being equal, I would rather be US based. However, nothing ever is "everything else being equal".

There are a WIDE variety of overseas jobs, from temp contract, to permanent, full-time positions. Not everyone gets the privilege of working for DAL or 3M, and overseas opportunities are often better than what you can find in the US.

cliff
YYZ (almost put NBO by mistake)

 

[overseas boy]

Green,
If you don't work for EK then maybe you're not the best to comment on life as an EK pilot. As for those "top notch" crew meals try visiting the EK clinic 3 times in 3 years for food poisoning from them. Yummy.

 

[Green]

Green,
If you don't work for EK then maybe you're not the best to comment on life as an EK pilot. As for those "top notch" crew meals try visiting the EK clinic 3 times in 3 years for food poisoning from them. Yummy.

overseas boy-- Taken from my post "I don't work for EK but I can say that working for a middle east carrier is a viable career option if you don't want to wait years to work your way up the seniority list" I'm not claiming to know the inner workings of EK but I do live in the area and work for a similar airline. I don't work for SWA, Fedex, or Dal but I would feel comfortable recommending those as good career options.

You were poisoned three times in three years? Bad luck dude. I've got tons of friends working out here and I've never heard of a similar situation. Guess you're lucky.

I still maintain that there is a culture of bitch#ing on pprune that does not reflect reality. There are not many airlines in the states where you can go from a crj, for example, to a 340 making 120k+/1st year with 42 days vacation. Add to that a 3-6 year upgrade and it's a pretty decent deal. Sure EK makes less than others in the region but it's a viable option. IMHO more people from the states should consider joining. People who aren't working for SWA/FEDEX/UPS/DAL should look hard at the expat lifestyle. It's a great way to see the world and make a decent living. When you can't stand the middle east anymore then head over to Vietnam/Japan/China/etc....Too many people see all the whining on pprune and write the middle east off.

 

[jhill]

It's a bid world. There is more out there than the Middle East. My friend left Delta after 15 years (in his 40's) to go to Emirates. He hated it and left. Found a job at an Asian carrier and loves it and the expat lifestyle.

I've got a good friend at Emirates and he hates the place. The sand pit sucks but they are a$$holes to work for. So he's got that going for him.

 

[d328pilot]

I made the jump overseas to an Asian carrier 3 years ago and it was the best move I have ever made. I hope that this jobs sticks around for a while because I couldn't imagine having to go back home to start over at the bottom. At least in the contract world I have the ability to jump from carrier to carrier and usually start in the left seat.

 

[NEDude]

What so many people fail to realize is that for every pilot hired at a decent paying, stable airline, there are dozens of pilots stuck at crappy regionals, shaky start-ups or LCCs, or on the street. And right now the best opportunities out there are overseas.

So here I am with the opportunity to stay close to home and kids with a very low paying regional (ie. food stamps, hovering on the brink of bankruptcy) or I can head overseas and into the left seat of an A320 with 3 months off every year and making $150K (plus the tax benefits).