Originally Posted by
blackmamba
I think EK should seriously cool it with rapid expansion. All these routes are going to take a toll on their service quality and gives the company a terrible incentive to accept unqualified service crew members and hasten their training just to get them on a plane to somewhere.
The current rapid expansion of EK is tied to the arrival of new widebody equipment. EK is taking delivery of up to 22 B777s and 12 A380s in 2012, while the airline will gradually start retiring the 8-strong A343 fleet as well as potentially a couple of A332s.
Obviously, the fleet expansion was not decided upon overnight. These aircraft were ordered years ago, so we can expect that EK has anticipated corresponding crew requirements. While the standards in crew hiring may have dropped a bit over the years, I don't believe that the airline has become reckless in this regard.