Latest Etihad Rumours

[Captain. Jack.Sparro]

Well seeing as this is a rumour network, would be interested to see if anyone can deny/confirm these various rumours that have been circulating. Please don't shoot the messenger! I am only repeating what I have heard elsewhere


1. Housing Allowance - further screw ups are planned (dubai issue was only the beginning) Now you will only receive what your rent is - e.g. 100k rent = 100k allowance and no more saving possible. Of course they won't pay more than the 160/170k.

2. Pay Rise - 3% pay rise on Basic (!), but in lieu of removal of all overtime payments (so now can fly 900hrs). Will hurt the 340 guys I would imagine.

3. Increase in dead-heading. Looking at many flights to see if they can get away with only 2 on some sectors where there are 3 and 3 where there are 4

4. Crippled expansion. Total back track on the "1 aircraft a month til 2020". Now apparently on average 5 per year for the next 6 as the airport itself is massively behind schedule and facing possible cancellation?

5. Continuation of rumour 4, AUH government wants to bid for EK outright, merge the fleets and make 1 national airline operating out of the new DWC airport - no point in building the new airport in AUH. High speed rail link planned to new Dubai Airport.


I understand recruitment is difficult at the moment so I presume we must have an excess of pilots or most of these policies don't make sense!

[RemoveB4Flght]

It's all a big circle on the 320 fleet. Management pilots and Instructors are having to fly the line because there is a 'pilot shortage'. New Instructors can't be trained because the other ones are flying the line or doing OPC checks only. New pilots can't be hired because their aren't enough instructors. New pilots are needed because old pilots are quitting. Old pilots are quitting because QOL, pay issues, and lack of career progression. 320 drivers fly more sectors, more actual flight hours(not resting in bunks), and have fewer days off, but earn less money than widebody counterparts. Cannot upgrade on 320 because new captains can't fly with cadets. Cannot CCQ to 330/340 because not enough trainers/pilot shortage/hiring direct entry widebody pilots. Cannot go to 777 fleet because the company prefers to hire outside Boeing drivers (per road show). Now forced to spend their housing money in AD. Endure the indignation of widebody pilots looking down their noses at them.... Management pilots not addressing this because... well.. they are busy flying the line during this unexplained pilot shortage.


If the 320 fleet were the best payed in the industry, and treated like a real airline rather than a faux low-cost, then more good pilots, trainers, and instructors would be lined up to be a part of the team. Instead the experienced 320 pilots are marching out the door because other airlines don't view them as either 1) profitability roadblock or 2) incapable of flying a widebody or a narrow body command.

[Slopwith]

Quite agree. Of course this should not reflect on the A320 fleet training manager -sorry why did four TRE's leave and why are the rest of the decent ones exasperated? Nor should it reflect on the any of his peers who have of course been monitoring and supporting all his activities and excellent management skills and been giving him the green light-that is before they had to go flying.
Had a cadet-sorry second officer the other night and he confirmed that many of them are going to go on the 330. Does this then mean no upgrades on the 330 either a la new captains not flying with SOs?
Just read email re training with all 320 training cancelled.

Didn't someone say at the last roadshow that the 320 fleet was in danger of imploding?
:ugh:

[noise of freedom]

It looks lke Qatar Airways...

i have to say that all ME is all the same with minor differences...

ALL FU^^^^^ UP!!!

Let's move to somewhere else!!

NOF:mad::mad::mad::mad:

[superspotter]

Hey! Just noticed an upside!! If they move to the new airport then we can live in DXB :)
You guys should think about the poor Loadmasters that are about to start on the soon to be delivered A330F's, i.e. me. Accom allowance capped at 90K, apart from a flea pit, what am I going to find with that in AUH :sad:

[speedbirdx]

Looks like I'll be stuck in A320 in a very long time. Any truth in the rumour that QR is taking DEC 777 from us?

[superspotter]

Al reef was recommended but the prices are too high for my meagre budget, unless anybody knows different :)

[Nightfire]

I think, anybody who's done his homework, knows pretty well what he's in for, when joining Qatari. One must be either very desperated, or very stupid, to go there anyway.

[noise of freedom]

OH yessss


qatar airways is a place for really desperate pilots!!!

sadly true!

NOF

[sec 3]

Pretty soon they'l be sayin that about etihad

[slimy]

I`ll just go and sell everything now and leave or maybe just cut my wrists! I wish I had never read PPRUNE this afternoon!:\

[superspotter]

Oh yes Slopwith, they will gladly "give" me company accomodation....and relieve me of $2000 per month for the priviledge :eek: unfurnished too....:eek::eek:
So, if any of you guys can recommend accomodation for my meagre budget somewhere in the emirate?? Maybe in one of the compounds with the construction workers :uhoh:

[herbie963]

superspotter - short term take the company, majority of private rents force you into a yearly contract, usually paid up front. The company stuff (ey plaza etc) are usually pretty nice and actually better VFM then the private stuff but it's a shock compared to MAN prices ! You can get out of the company stuff with very little notice if you find something more suitable once on the ground.

[superspotter]

Cheers Herbie, that was my train of thought!!
Then again, EY might change their minds and let us stay in DXB.......

[SubsonicMortal]

Gentlemen,

What's the accommodation situation like at the moment for guys joining? I hear that the villa's are out in the middle of no-where. A mate described the villas as beautiful, modern and comfortable but the moment you look out the windows you're hit with a depressed view of the desert in every direction.

Does Etihad Plaza consist of only apartments in terms of accommodation or are there villa's also?

Next are rosters on the 330/340 fleet. Do they hit you with a lot of east-west mixes or do they generally roster you to fly either east or westbound mostly on a monthly basis? Is fatigue a real problem at Etihad or do you find that you can enjoy your job and your life away from it as well still?

Standing by...

[astronaute]

If this is true, and I believe it is, the travel with ID (90 or 50) will be harder , as the seats are taken by the DH crew !:mad:

[iflysky]

Yep, heard the same. FRA is the first one.

[jetaries]

Great yhey will just piss every single person off, sooner or later a good number will say enough. Fuel out the window etc. it looks like they want people to leave. I know of some guys that refused the interview or the job. I think they will change soon, they have to:oh:

[Nightfire]

This'll never change. Haven't you learned that by now?

Anyway, it's already impossible to get an ID50 to FRA (an ID90 is anyway just a waste of time).

[global707]

Heard it also from the CM on board last night.

Not usre how they are going to squeeze all that duty in, even with a DH sector back (or there) Max Duty on 1 sector at best time of day is 14 hours, so with a nighttime departure, how will it be achieved? Maybe for CC as they get the plus 1 hour on their duty and Minus 1 on rest?

[slimy]

I agree, with flight deck this will be impossible to maintain as we start our duty at report time, even with dead heading. So as I understand it on two sectors starting after 22:00 we have 10:15 which is not even enough to go to MUC never mind FRA and back!
As soon as the ASRs come in with a mention of "micro sleep" or "fatigue" the GCAA will stop it.:rolleyes:
Of course if we change all our departure times to 08:00 then it is just about possible but with delays, which we can build in of course, then ASRs again!

[Jetjock330]

We can operate to Peshawar and pax back, with a drink of course?:ok:

[Toubob]

Don't confuse duty with flight duty period. You can operate to a destination and have an FDP of say 14 hours. There is no limit to duty if you DH back. Duty is just working hours. A friend of mine had to operate Brisbane-SIN then DH back SIN-AUH last year when the 777 took over from the 330.

He asked RH about it who just giggled and said the above "Duty is not the same as FDP".

This is how our management plays guys, don't bend over for them. Do not go into discression, don't work on days off. It's the spineless types that let them no they can screw us.

[Jumbo Wambo]

Yup don't confuse FDP with Duty time. Only FDP has strict limits.

[sandpit]

I don't believe this one. Whilst the crew operating to Europe could legally position back on the same aircraft, the crew operating back would have to have at least minimum rest in Europe before the flight - so how would they save anything? I think this one is a furfy.

[theChosenOne]

Sandpit is right, it is a furfy. It comes back to a misunderstood explanation by SG of the new rostering system at a crew open house a few weeks back.

SG attempted to describe how 'sophisticated' the program was by using the DH crew duty as an example of how it optimises the duty times/limits. The analogy he used is that if at a cc can do a duty flight and then deadhead home, the system will do that. HOWEVER, this duty will NOT come into effect as they understand how it will effect the cc.

In anticipation of the arguments there have already been a few flights like this already - yes there were a couple of flights last month where cc dead-headed back, but they were VIP charters and they were ferried back with positioning crew.

[slimy]

I agree duty is not Flight duty and also agree you can deadhead back or anywhere without restrictions BUT how the crew get there to operate on the return sector!
If you report for a positioning flight to operate back then the FLIGHT DP starts at report. So it still stands, you can’t do this rotation to anywhere with a flight time of 6 hours or above...roughly!
Or if you think about it, if you only dead back then where do the crews come from to operate the return sector; they have to be in a hotel and therefore cancel the reason for dead heading at all!! The best or worse as I see it is FDP – min rest – FDP back.

Edit: sorry just saw Sandpit said the same...I think!

[slimy]

Oh! There is another DH anomaly as well! On the PEK/NGO route, by the time you come back you are acclimatised and therefore can operate back as 2 crew. Of course EY send a second FO and he/she has min rest in PEK and then becomes then, ironically, reason for having a third pilot as he/she is NOT acclimatised!! If he/she were not there then we could do it anyway!
Standing by to be corrected! :ugh: :sad:

[astronaute]

And don t forget, you are not paid when DH ( neither flight pay or layover allowances ):mad:

[Slopwith]

You have two crew for FRA.The outbound crew report as normal-they are only going to dead head back so there Max FDP is irrelevant. The second crew report one hour before as per minimum report time for a positioning flight and say this is at 12:05local (0805z) for the 0905z departure. Positioning does not count as a sector so their allowable FDP will be 14hours. Block time out is 6:45 for an ETA of 15:50z. This is already 7:45hrs of the 14hrs leaving 6:15. Block time back is 6:20 and the aircraft has not yet been turned around. DO not see how it will work. 6 hours block each way (12 hours total)with a one hour turnaround is about the limit.

[etihadceo]

I think Slimy said something like that already! Its not going to happen and if it does then we take our time and send in another Discretion report and also fly slower to get there on time as we all know the block time on the germany flight normally results in an early arrival!:sad:

[saviboy]

"Not a rumor: Resignation letters as of today for pilots going to EK are being rejected by the dream team."

ok. it s just a pathetic attempt at delaying the exodus that will happen anyways. those who want to leave will leave. they ll just have to go somewhere a bit further away.

[Hoggtart]

No not a rumour a hard fact.

[ex dog]

Sorry , too change the subject but i have been offered a contract on the New A330-200F as a LOADMASTER but i am now wonderng is it worth it reading the horror stories about accom etc etc

[Jetjock330]

Also, end of service benefits for CC have been reduced from 35 days to as little as 20 days on the renewed contract. Of course, on the take it or leave basis.