Re: Flying in the Arabian Gulf
Outhouse,
I am in the same situation as you ....in the past I have found few operators that are flexible enough to accomodate those of us who do not wish to fall into slot 6 on the crew board for the rest of our lives despite offering to work all 36 slots at some time in order to have a specific two or three weeks off each year. As we reach this point in life..we have a grand tolerance for boredom and hardship but want to enjoy those short periods of time that are out of our control but hold special interest to us.
Wages and benefits at some point become secondary to our need to pursue that special bit of entertainment we have missed out on for most of our lives.
For me that is the first three weeks in November...the other 48 weeks of the year I could care less where I am, how long I am there, and what I am doing....but those three weeks are important.
I understand the complexity of running a scheduling board....but at some point the people have to come first if one wishes to maintain well experienced and reliable staff.
The Honey Do list can be manipulated if not ignored unless the Boss Lady corners you....and at our age...holidays don't mean much but time off is important.
New rumour heard....Aramco has an exodus of Expats going on...and hiring of consultant pilots cannot keep up with the turnover. A109's in service but reserved for non-expat non-consultant pilots. Consultants might one day advance to the 206's after decades on 212/412's as copilots. Can anyone confirm that situation?
Last edited by SASless; 2nd Jan 2006 at 23:02.