Originally Posted by
goodlife
Hi everyone,
I'm considering joining Qatar Airways as a First Officer. Currently, I'm flying for a low-cost airline in Europe on the 737.
Could you provide insights into the current situation at Qatar Airways following the CEO change?
1. Are rest periods still not included in your FTL and not compensated? What about deadheads? Are they compensated, and have there been any reductions in deadheads?
2. How are flight hours distributed across each fleet? What you can expect on 777/787/737
3. What's the cockpit atmosphere like? Is there still a fear culture?
4. Is there an annual pay increase, or is it not a practice? Are the figures on pjn valid?
5. Is the time for upgrading still long?
Would you recommend Qatar Airways, or would it be better to aim for a Dubai-based airline?
Thank you all, and have a great day!
1. Rest periods are counted as full flight pay, and they will soon be included in the FTL. Deadheading is full flight pay.
2. The widebody fleets are quite busy but there is plenty of variety, especially on the 777 with long cargo trips that give you plenty of time out of Doha. This is the best part of the job.
3. Cockpit atmosphere is good. We are all in the same boat and it’s generally a relaxed atmosphere on the Boeing. Fear culture isn’t what is widely advertised.
4. There is a step increment on your basic salary every year of 3%.
5. Upgrading time does seem to be on average 8-9 years, but things can change quite quickly and there have been times in the past when upgrades happened after only 4 years. Unlikely to see that again for a while.
Of the big 3 ME airlines, Qatar is narrowly the best paid, if you take in account getting the housing allowance. I see little difference between any of the Gulf countries, but that’s me having lived before in Dubai.
Good luck