Absolutely, after all it is not that easy to get into the mainline carriers these days, especially if you are not that talented. And if you do not get into the LH, AF or LX Flying Schools or FA training camps, the NE3 def. represent a better option than Ryan, Easy or the low cost feeders, at least if you do not want to smoke and if you ignore your romantic feelings, especially for the same sex. :eek::eek::eek:

So, I cannot wait for the next example, that somebody here knows a homosexual union-representing guy, who also smokes two packs a day, enjoying life at its fullest working for EK. :p

Buddy, again, we have seen it all and we have heard it all from people who went there. Once again, the difference between people in the stands and people on the pitch.

Nothing further from the truth. The person I mentioned gets rent allowance from EK not a 3rd party. He gets nothing from the government. As for FAs that share apartments in complexes, these complexes are contracted with EK as suppliers of accommodation (much like that contracted car rental company providing the fleet/personnel for the EK chauffeur drive service).

Just one question...since when do you need a down payment in the US to buy a house?

It seems that Bob Dylan was right after all, the times they are changin'

But I just love the examples from Switzerland and Sweden, truly representative.

I fear Uri will quote the number of Swedish nationals working for EK in Dubai next...guys from Scandinavia really appreciate the way Dubai is running things.

Recruitment standards for EK aren't more 'lax or different than the EU3 carriers you mentioned.

Sexual orientation is a whole different issue. Once upon a time I heard this from a female FA:'why am I still single among this sea of attractive young men I wonder everyday, but what can I do when 8 out of the 10 are gay and 2 are already married'

And who paid for the real estate and house on top of it? And who provided the financing? Emirates, DNATA, the Emirates Group? ;)

Again, there is really no point trying to camouflage what is as obvious as it can be.

And, once again, this is okay and has just been copied by the folks from other parts of the world running airlines for way more time than the NE3.

Housing, for example, was a big factor for SQ and CX as well back in the days...

Neither of the 3 are involved in housing, the house that pal lives in is privately owned by a Jordanian landlord.

But JFK to MXP is just one tiny part of the America to Europe market. (Granted, it appears to be an underserved route, which is why Emirates selected it). For those Americans wanting to travel to places in Europe other than Milan/Italy, why would you fly to Milan on a carrier with no other onward flights (other than to Dubai)?

(Milan was not even in the Top 15 list of European airports having transatlantic flights in summer 2014. Heathrow topped the list with 816 weekly flights, Rome was in 6th place with 143 flights, while Copenhagen came in 15th place with 65 weekly flights). source

Recruitment standards for Harvard Business or Law are also pretty much comparable to any other school, at least on paper. You have to have an undergraduate degree and a pretty solid vita.

Who is actually applying and who is getting the place/job might be another question, though.

If you want to become a FA in Germany, Switzerland or France, you apply at the national carrier first.

If you want to become a FA in Romania, Hungary or Bulgaria, you might go to the NE3 first, maybe even to Ryanair (although in Poland LOT used to rank way above Ryanair for quite some time...)

Same story for pilots. And living in Dubai, Abu or Doha is also not really that interesting for most pilots and educated people I know in Europe. I fear the Lake Zurich or the Tegernsee is somehow superior to the Dubai River. :D

But, of course, there are always exceptions proving the rule.

Ok, so a guy from Jordan bought real estate and a house and he is renting/leasing it to a company owned by Dubai who pays the rent in order to provide free housing to an employee of EK.

And as pointed out some days already, EK is quite famous for having a lot of official and inofficial 'affiliates' paying for certain services that may or may not be part of the EK books.

The major difference now, but not 30 years ago, these inofficial companies do not exist for LH or other European carriers anymore, hence their business transactions are very transparent.

The 'thin' annual report EK is publishing leaves a lot of open questions...

Dubai Creek :)

And the examples you pointed out are generalisations with elitist and racial connotations that lack the data/proof.

Not only that, if we were to assume what you said is accurate, we'd expect to see EK along many major carriers whose safety is shall we say, less than ideal.

If we were to use cabin crew friendliness as an indicator then judging from 'cold/rude cabin staff' complaints online, EK should be among the worst.

The FA leases the house direct from the landlord. The salary package this guy is under includes housing allowance. Very much like many enterprises and even government agencies do, not just in the region but also around the world.

If EK is PAYING for an allowance as party of a package to an employee, can you please explain how a 3rd party or affiliate pays again for such a thing?

The thickness of a report is not an indicator of how transparent an airline is.

No, not at all.

And let's not start with safety. Let's just hope that EK is able to move along without anymore major incidents or even worse due to limited experience.

It can be frustrating at airlines like LX or LH to move up the ladder to become a pilot, but I guess we will never have a serious problem due to limited experience (in general or on the relavant aircraft type)

And I am absolutely not surprised that FAs from Thailand or Vietnam are smiling all the time whereas LH FAs are not.

But your arguments are heading into the same direction most posters take when they are running out of arguments.

Training standards, the financial performance or a clean P+L account has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the inflight experience, where carriers from the Near East are setting examples, certainly by providing levels of service that are not sustained by the actual income, but who cares...

I always said that the people, who invested billions and billions into the NE3 are the backpackers' best friend. 15 years ago, the 6 weeks of a backpacking holiday through Myanmar started onboard PIA, Air India, or even worse, nowadays they start with a stop in Dubai and lots of original programming, Walkers Shortbread cookies and a decent meal. What's not to love about that?

I am fortunate enough to fly at least C on long-haul flights these days, but years ago I was invited to attend to DXB airshow. I left a day earlier, the EK flight was full, but I wanted to go home, so accepted a downgrade and a seat in Y. Very nice flight, really good crew, good service (IIRC, it was a 772, might have been a 332)

But if those guys are able to evacuate an aircraft properly is written on another piece of paper, though. In this case, I do appreciate the German FA without a smile again. ;)

Again, you do not have to convince me, I know how the NE3 work, I also know how LH or AB work. I am not really against it, I understand the agenda, I worked on various reports for more or less all parties in this industry, hell, I even used the same arguments for and against the same players in this industry. :D

As stated some days ago, there is a decent chance that after all those years EK might break even these days, certainly doing so by running the operation in Dubai-style. In Western Europe, we have progressed and are subject to significantly higher standards, when it comes to auditing and/or financial transparency, which is good in the interest of the shareholders.

Aside from the bare curiosity people running the NE3 might show when it comes to the real financial numbers, their intention as a shareholder is completely different, their 'dividend' is calculated on another piece of paper.

So who cares whether Germany, The Netherlands, Dubai or Qatar invested more to establish an airline over the last 60 years...it is a philosophical discussion. :D

To be honest, I'm not sure I can follow your logic or arguments. You first try to put holes in an anecdote criticizing the choice of such counter-argument, then you give an anecdote of your own and use it to justify what merely constitutes a baseless opinion.

So you think, or seem to at least, that EK safety standards are not par or would be difficult to trust. What made you think this way? Was it a failed evacuation? or was it something you saw onboard? I mean these things are treated seriously, very seriously by the cabin crew, yet you seem to be confident of your words.

I would certainly be running out of arguments when the counter argument is cemented with fantasy and cloaked in mystery.

Great... now we have gone from the OP's unwillingness to respond to any arguments to the personal vendetta's from the LH forums. Could we stay on topic please and stick to the subject at hand and not the same LH ........ that has ruined so many threads there.