Emirates Pilot Life Comparison: B777 vs A380

Welcome aboard!
I have been getting lots of questions about pilot life in the Emirates. However, I especially get one question the most: What are the differences between flying Emirates B777 and Airbus A380? Are salaries different in these 2 fleets? Is lifestyle totally different between these 2 fleets? How about days off and destinations? In this video, I wanted to explain the differences and similarities of flying B777 and A380 in the Emirates. If you have anything to add please share it with me through the comments. In addition to this video, you're welcome to watch a general video about Pilot life in the Emirates • Pilot life in Dubai
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Timecodes:
00:00 - Intro
00:36 - Emirates fleet
01:12 - Similarities of salary
01:50 - Differences in operation
05:00 - Rosters
07:19 - Dynamic environment
08:07 - Commuting in A380
09:16 - Changes in fleet
11:36 - A380 &B777 operation analyses at Flightradar24
17:30 - Night flights
18:00 - Conclusion
Check more videos about Emirates:
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Credits to @FoxMooderAMBIENCEWORLDS for the background video.
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The views and opinions expressed in this video are solely mine and do not necessarily represent the views, opinions, or positions of any company or organization mentioned. I share personal experiences, thoughts, and perspectives, and these should be understood as subjective interpretations. It is important to note that my experiences may vary, and you are encouraged to conduct your own research and make informed decisions. I am not a spokesperson for any company and do not speak on behalf of any employer, past or present.

[@dennisvega6311]

Great video as always my dear friend Caner, thank you for all the feedback and input on the differences, keep up the good work 💪 ‘til the next video…

[@CanerAcarbay]

Thanks again! I’ll be publishing more aviation vlog in the next coming weeks:)

[@deepalperera4592]

excellent topic, well explained. pl continue with more informative videos about EK

[@CanerAcarbay]

Thanks, will do!

[@benburns5995]

Hi Caner, thanks for this video comparing flying a 777 for Emirates or an A 380. It was interesting seeing how many more routes they have for the 777 than the A 380. With an A 380 holding so many passengers they must to fly to popular destinations to fill the plane each time.

[@CanerAcarbay]

You are absolutely right! B777 is a workhorse of the Emirates Airline and A380 flies to high density routes.

[@vurban]

Hi my friend, good stuff. Congrats. When you say 14 days off, it means 14 fat at home or you’re counting on layovers as days off too? Thank you!

[@HasanAliHilaly]

Hi @caneracarby i was wondering if you get to choose between a380 and 777 when u join the company

[@Slavking03]

Very good and informative video! I think i will be preferring boeing over airbus when finished flight school.

[@CanerAcarbay]

Glad it was helpful!

[@sergiocantero5423]

Hey Caner hello, any chance you could give some tips on the knowledge test subject to prepare ? Cheers !

[@user-bi2rp4sv3y]

hi....may you please find us someone who can answer some of the questions we have about the Emirate flight training academy??......eg does one have to pay the whole fee upfront ? if not what happens if you have missed your payments.?

[@rhys1386]

Thanks for this video, very informative! Do you know how long it would take to request a transfer from the 777 to 380 at EK? Currently Boeing rated and was hoping for a switch to Airbus but I doubt I’ll be eligible!

[@CanerAcarbay]

Fleet transfer is hardly happening in Emirates. IF you are a Boeing guy, you can expect to fly a Boeing.

[@MrDavid0808]

Thanks for the vid! Im currently evaluating my decision to move to emirates or await upgrade in my ULCC. So i have a few questions that i would be really thankfull if you could help me out with. 1. Is the upgrade time in emirates still 5-7 years? 2. Whats the general vibe in the flight deck? Are most captains relaxed and let you do your job or are they the typical boomer pilot that questions your every decision. You know which capatains im talking about 😅 3. Im currently doing an average of 4-5 red eyes a month. The majority of them are turnaround flights and are exhausting. How many red eyes where you doing a month and where they all direct flights? Did you have a crew rest room where you could sleep or something like that? 4. I understand that you started out in Turkish, if you could start over again would you have waited to get your command in Turkish then started life as an expat or would you stick to your decision of heading out as an FO. Thanks a lot ,youre really helping me out with these videos in making my decision, keep up the good work.

[@CanerAcarbay]

Hey great comment! I'll try to answer your questions. 1-) My friends there for 6 years and They didn't upgrade yet. However, this doesn't reflect the future opportunities. Depending on the fleet, attrition rate, expanding opportunities, upgrade time can be more than that or can be less than that. Also, don't forget you need to pass command upgrade interview and course! Upgrade is not guaranteed :) 2-) Flight deck is amazing. Really great! 3-) In Ek, you will have total 67 flights a month. There are lots of red Eyes because It's wide-body operation. You eventually cross a night zone. There is no crew rest because you don't need one. Flights are in general one leg. You either go home or hotel. 4-) Between Turkish and Emirates, I would still choose Emirates. Thanks for the good words :) I'll record more video that can help you. Stay tuned :)

[@balasubramanianmeyyappan2554]

Hi Caner! This is the 1st video i am watching on your channel and it is really good content. I have a question for you basically i am an IT employee with 14 years of experience but for the last two years something made me run behind this pilot career so i have started to watch plenty of videos related to it.. Am i eligible to become a pilot at the age of 35? Moreover I am a commerce student where I don't have any knowledge on the science side except Computer science.. Looking forward to get a reply from you ❤

[@CanerAcarbay]

Don't be afraid! Start your pilot journey asap! I had students at the age of 45. Even you become at the age of 35, you will still have 30 years in front of you :)

[@balasubramanianmeyyappan2554]

@@CanerAcarbay Thank you so much for your time to reply for my question ❤️❤️ I really appreciate it and let me try to start some footpaths towards it 🙏 i will surf your channel even more to find out some more videos related to it... Thanks again 🙏

[@deepalperera4592]

It will be good if you can do a video on the nationalities of EK pilots

[@CanerAcarbay]

They are from all around the world! There is not much to record :)

[@deepalperera4592]

@@CanerAcarbay tks for your answer

[@fToo]

looking very tanned today ... just back from holiday ... or is this normal Houston sunshine ?!

[@CanerAcarbay]

Good catch :) That was after vacation :)

[@Legendaryrabbit567-rj4nt]

Also you forgot one more tĥing , emirates doesnt operate a380 to muscat they operate 777 on the muscat route 😅

[@CanerAcarbay]

Once upon a time they did operation to Muscat with A380s. It’s a very dynamic planning. Network construction changes based on demand :)

[@Dedess11]

They did operated A380 to Muscat

[@106.]

i flew from auckland to muscat through emirates and both flights were on the a380,

[@samuelng4509]

Hi Caner, do you have any advice for foreigners who wants to join emirates as a pilot? Do you recommend to join EFTA or do we get the pilot lisence from our home country first before joining emirates?

[@CanerAcarbay]

Well EFTA is extremely expensive way of being a pilot. However, It's a good way to find a job after training. In most cases, EK hires these pilots. It's your choice to decide!

[@user-mp5qd9xu7c]

Hi , Caner ! Can you please explain how did you become an emirates pilot . Is it hard and what have you done for this?

[@CanerAcarbay]

It all depends how many pilot application do they have in their pool. Sometimes they are very picky sometimes they are not. That being said, you need to meet minimum hiring criteria and needs to perform well in the assessment. EK is very high standard airline.

[@guraytanc9732]

Merhaba, As fresh pilot who is looking for future options, I always considered emirates as a „well paid” airline. And in absolute terms they do offer substantially higher salaries than other european companies eapecially for people that are not yet super experienced to be in some sort training or managerial positions. I also realized that after watching your episodes on US that you are a person who takes educated and analized approach to creating a wealth or financial position. So I took some research and started calculating the costs of living in DXB. Also pilot salaries did not change much for last 5 years whereas the prices increased substantially. It came to my attention that a FO with family (including kids) is almost unable to save and invest any money. Only option is to ask for housing allowance for purchasing property (that can later be sold or rented out for income). I took the approach of „having normal life” and not trying to save every single dirham but rather living confortably but without excess bling. Whats your opinion on that? Maybe its also an idea for an episode? Expensiveness of dubai makes working in Emirates not such a interesting options. Tessekuler

[@MrA-km8ws]

Sorry but I am somewhat shocked at some comments on people who want to be picky on certain things just because they want golden spoon to be given to them in everything they desire. Compare Emirates package to the airline around the world where you must pay tax and live of the salary with no extra support or housing benefits or allowances for living needs. Even expats that work for Chinese airlines or Asia Pacific like Japan or South Korea get high salary but have to pay taxes and do get similar accommodation support but still lack the amount of benefits the middle east airlines give. There is a KZbin channel very popular of United Airlines Captain who has to commute by flight to his base city for work and has to pay for his own hotel accommodation during his roster and take into the fact he pay taxes from his salary and from whatever he takes home he uses it for his family and children education, bills, living costs etc.... plus he has to keep budget on booking cheapest hotels every time he has to commute to work, this is how he survives. When Emirates is giving tax free salary, plus accommodation and if in company accommodation they will cover utilities costs or if you want own accommodation they give monthly allowance and transportation allowance, for work they send staff transport to take from your home to airport and when you do return flight back to Dubai the staff transport takes you from Dubai airport back to your home, you got free dry cleaning, shopping benefits, flight benefits, holiday, education allowance for children up to high school, medical cover, end of service benefits, visa costs covered for your family to live with you, what more do you want ? I do not know what calculations you are doing but many FO are living well in Dubai and FO I know in airlines like Qatar Airways whose pay is not as high as Emirates but are enjoying life in Qatar with same amount of benefits better than their home in West. Its the same anywhere, if you do not control your costs and expect to spend like crazy everyday, then no amount of money will ever be enough for people, even if they were being paid a million dollars a year. Would you like to work for the Europe airlines like British Airways or Easyjet and others where your salary is your survival pack and you need to pay taxes first then take home what you have ? Considering the high costs problems in the West, plus in USA without medical insurance you will never afford medical and health care costs for yourself and family. Expats going to Middle East are always growing because of lifestyle and huge benefits, many actually save enough to even invest or do business after retirement, many who live with their families are enjoying the peaceful and safe environment also that is offered living there. I just think some people who want to talk negative on Emirates or Dubai are people that want to moan because they feel in mind Middle East has so much money so they should just keeping giving more to them. Now people are running for new Saudi Airlines Riyadh Air and expats also work for Saudia Airlines enjoying great benefits and life because they know they wont ever get such enjoyment from their home countries, every airline has some short comings, but the positives at airlines like Emirates and Middle East Airlines are far greater, thats why many expats are praising their decision to move to Middle East for pilot career. Go look at Emirates careers website and watch videos also. Right now people are praising new airline in Saudi Riyad Air but soon time will come where such people will even start moaning about RIyad Air package and salary because they feel they want more.

[@guraytanc9732]

@@MrA-km8ws Hello I think you got me wrong, I am on the same side, my primary aim is to get to Emirates once I get enough hours. However! I cant just not see that back in 2018/2019 when I was starting my flight school, salaries in emirates were almost the same as today. Maybe 5% increase since then. Fortunetely I am one who does calculate everything and write it down. I have old excel with some properties. Example - green community west bungalow 1 story house (4beds)-> costed 4 milion then, now goes for 5,5 to 7 milion - Green community 5 bed 2 stories house -> 4 milion now 5,7 all the way to 10 milion - 2bed arabian ranches townhouse was 1,5-2 million (could find as low as 1,2 but needed refurbishment) now goes for 2,4 upwards But properties are not the only things that got expensive. Groceries, fuel (here is also almost 50% increase), other amneties. School allowance also requires parents to participate at amounts around 1k dirham (thats what Ive been told by friend who flew 777 there). Now obviously in ultimate terms you still get better amounts of money, but the question is how far does that take you? And how much you can save up? If where I live in europe as contractor I can get to a level of roughly 35-40k dirhams AFTER TAX within 4-5 years (eg captain at ryr) or I can go to Emirates and earn 50k as FO (total compensation including school allowance etc). Now question is what amount do I save living in DXB (and working my ass off) and what amount can I save living at home and working 5on 4off. This is something I calculate. I talk about scenario of a family 2+1 or 2+2. In europe I have free (or paid in taxes) health care (and If I need something to get to see doctor faster I can get 500 dhs/month family package for private), free schools (if I want better then it will cost me 2-3k a months), grocery bill monthly at 2k for family of 3 + big dog, phones and internet for less than 200dhs/mo for whole family etc. Only thing that seems higher in price from my local perspectove is car related costs (purchasing a car and fuel, maintainance and insurance are actually lower). Now If I can get at least 1/2 of my total compensation saved up without affecting my quality of life I take Emirates any time. But if its less than that I probably can match it with Captain salary at RYR (buzz) and still live at home where my friends and family are. I understand that for people living in london or zurich my calculations does not make sense but for people in other more affordable cities it is probably easier to see. Captain is different but then hey, I am fresher, I dont know how I will see things in 10 years. I still wanna fly widebody out of middle east its just at that moment in time I think Emirates has to at least catch up with what they relatively offered back in 2019. Back then I calculated that I was able to save 10k dirhams a month and use housing allowance to purchase property (so i retained the value to sell it later or rent it out for income - valued back then at 14k a month) as an FO with family. Right now I can see that I will be short of that 10k (relatively) and will be able to purchase much smaller property. Unfortunetely inflation is hurting everybody. I wanted to start some sort of open discussion, I am open for arguments, but please dont take it as personal attack or have this kind of attitude that someone is always unhappy. If we analyze weather on our destination while flying is it so bad to analyze your finances in life decisions? Now like I said I am always open for arguments because I still „feel the vibe” of flying wide body as an expat is amazing city just I have to be wary of my needs and my familys.

[@CanerAcarbay]

You already did your homework! That's what most pilots are lacking! I'm 100% sure that wherever you go in your life you will be good both for professionally and financially. Never make your assumptions based on emotions. Have your solid plans and achieve them step by step! You are on the correct path! Keep me updated with your journey!

[@vuyopapiyana]

How is the job culture in Emirates? Are the pilots overworked and do you have many expats flying for emirates? Do these expats like it?

[@CanerAcarbay]

Culture perception is different for each nationality. Eastern and Western cultures can approach a matter totally different way. Therefore very hard to say anything about cultural things in Emirates. However, I can say that Cockpit environment is great in Emirates! I enjoyed my time there! Maybe more than 90 percent of entire Emirates are expats :)

[@deepalperera4592]

Noticed you have never flown to Colombo . Although 777 is used on this route

[@CanerAcarbay]

I flew to Colombo a few times:)

[@JestonSun]

0:50 To be Accurate the 777-200lr is the smallest plane in Emirates Fleet.

[@Johnathanwillams76]

Hello I was wondering if emirates is more likely to fire the A380 pilots then the B777 pilots aside from covid times

[@CanerAcarbay]

No. Emirates is a very secure airline. Pilots are not treated differently in both fleets.

[@Johnathanwillams76]

@@CanerAcarbay do you think within the next few years emirates will get more a more varied selection of planes like 787 or A320

[@mezunnsb]

abi merhabalar umarım iyisindir bu sene pilotaj bölümüne gireceğim tamamen burslu bir şekilde aklımda kalan birkaç soru var sorsam sakıncası olur mu?

[@mezunnsb]

türkiyeden pilotluk akademisinden çıkıp yurt dışından iş bulma imkanım yüzde kaç Türkiyedeki airlinelar gibi düşük yaşam kalitesine nazaran oradaki şirketler nasıl bir hizmet sağlıyor ve son olarak tecrube ne kadar gerekiyor bu şirketlere alımda cevaplarsan çok sevinirim.

[@CanerAcarbay]

Turkiye'de ucus saatlerini aldiktan sonra yurt disina cok rahat cikabilirsin. Genelde yurt disindaki sirketlerde yasam kalitesi cok daha yuksek. Genelde 2000 saat ve ATPL yurt disindaki sirketlere girmek icin guzel bir baslangic. Kolay gelsin!

[@mezunnsb]

@@CanerAcarbay teşekkür ediyorum!

[@Acepilot2022.]

Hi sir i have a question is joining emirates flight academy a good idea.

[@Johnathanwillams76]

If you can afford it and pass the tests then it’s 100% worth it

[@CanerAcarbay]

If you are gonna be offered a first officer position after the training, you can consider. Otherwise, It’s a very expensive flight training school

[@Johnathanwillams76]

I know someone who went their and he says that they always hire graduates soon completion they just have to say it’s not guaranteed for legal reasons

[@Crosswind93]

Not guaranteed means not guaranteed, no matter what someone says 😅

[@Johnathanwillams76]

@@Crosswind93 if your emirates why would you not hire someone who has completed all their training with them. Also there are no unions in the uae so they can fix the contract to what they want if their was a union it probably would be guaranteed.

[@MrPrime44]

Hey ! If you can , I need your personal guidance. I am very passionate about being a pilot. I will really appreciate it .. Thanks

[@CanerAcarbay]

How can I help you?

[@MrPrime44]

Can we talk in person? I live in Dubai too ..

[@mustafashulqamy1844]

Also another thing to add, B777 pilots sometimes do multiple flights per day since they have short destinations like DXB-BAH, DXB-RUH, DXB-MCT, DXB-KWI, all of which are under 1.5h. But do you think A380 guys are also doing multiple turns per day? because currently the shortest active EK A380 destination is DXB-JED, which is 2h 25m.

[@CanerAcarbay]

Thanks for the feedback. There are not much multiple legs on A380. Those short flights mainly used for line checks etc.

[@larrykang2586]

Do you get to choose which one you want to fly?

[@CanerAcarbay]

Unfortunately, you can’t choose a specific fleet. That being said, you can let them know if you have any preferences.

[@marcin_wirecki]

what does it mean 1 day off vs 1 day rest?

[@CanerAcarbay]

Great question. Rest day is basically different than your off day. It's company's day given to you to get rest before your duty. They are attached to the trips; if your trip is canceled and this trip has a rest day in the front, your rest day will be taken away from you.

[@marcin_wirecki]

@@CanerAcarbay, thanks for clarification :) rest day is only at home base or during layovers days as well?

[@Joe_Studioz]

How can I join cabine crew😢?

[@CanerAcarbay]

Check their career web site. There are plenty information on EK career web site.

[@torbjrndannevig3082]

Emirates did order a lot of Boeing planes today!

[@CanerAcarbay]

Yess! We are living one of the best times as a pilot. Each big airline started ordering new aircrafts. That means there will be more pilots needed to operate these aircrafts.

[@olgerjovani8653]

380 is very expensive to operate!

[@CanerAcarbay]

That's correct :)