Now maybe I’ve got it wrong, but how do you get $7,000 USD out of the FO package here at QR Mr Weather Man?
7K equals 25,550 riyals. Your basic pay is 14,000 plus 70 riyals an hour. Working on 70 hours, that’s 4,900, which makes a total of 18,900. Out of that come all the extras that are not covered in the package. I refer to the excess cost of accommodation, the cost of buying a motor car (you must have a car here), utility bills, etc.
Housing, Transport, etc., allowances come to 6,600. You will pay around 7,500 for the house, 500 for you mobile phone, 200 for Cable TV, 300 for Internet ADSL. Without the normal necessities of life, food and drink, that totals 8,500. So you are already digging into your 18,900 by 1,900. Then there’s that car I spoke of. Cars are cheap here by most countries’ standards but you still have to buy one.
Perhaps you’re one of those pilots who stays in the hotel room on nightstops eating canned beans? In which case you can add approximately 2,000 riyals in meal allowances and kid yourself that it’s salary. But please don’t join me for dinner down route; I don’t want to pick up your tab.
By my calculations, you’d be very lucky to bank 15,000 riyals a month for your retirement, which by the way, is not included in the deal here.
And if you’re coming here as a Captain just add 6,200 to the above figures.
USD terms? $4,100 for FO’s and $5,800 for Captains as take-home pay provided your do 70 hours scheduled ‘productive!’ hours.