For those Bus and Boeing drivers wishes to join EY and planning to live in AUH below is few tips;
Always look after Number one because Number 2 and 3 will be automatically taken care of. Stick to your Guns when you negotiate your package ( they need you more than you need them), those German and
Aussies are tough fellows they want to have the cake and eat it too, you do the hard work and they take the credit.
at the end of the day NO one will force you to make any decision you do not want to make.
The airport is 35 KM from the centre of AUH- strait drive.avoid the locals and Taxi drivers they are lunatics. Accidents are usually fatal.
Driving licence conversion to AUH driving licence is quite easy.
to get a loan from a bank to buy a car and register it usually take 3 days and off you go. you can get a loan approved over the counter for 250,000 Derhim, That's right, no typing error!!.
Do not stick your finger at other drivers like me when they do something stupid or un civilised in a road rage, because you will go to jail first for two days then they will ask you what happened. No matter what you did, you go to jail first.
The speed camera at the airport road have thresh hold of 160 KM before they go off. I do not think it works but it looks good, But not in Dubai.
- The airport is Average to fair, Ops and briefing crew room is very small and when you pass the hallway on your way to EY OCC you will suffocate. The smoke from the cabin crew smoking in the hallway is very bad.
- Most pilots are very pleasant, some I found the urge to thump, quite over whelming. Nationality of pilot ranging from English, Swiss, German, Norway, Malaysian, one from Zimbabwe (very nice man), one from Belgium, very few local pilots, very few Indian and sierlankan pilots.
The Cabin crew most of them are inexperience, Most of the time they argue about whose more senior, even though the difference is few months in seniority between them.It keeps them busy.
Children schooling are going up by quite a lot this year . It pays you to investigate your self.I am lucky I do not have the little devils.
Out door activity in the summer is NIL-NO GO ( Very bloody hot), in winter (between Nov to Feb) is quite nice. Do not try to be adventures and go for a run by the beach in the summer unless you are near crowd of people, this is so they can pick you up when you collapse and take you to the hospital to re-hydrate you. The only places you can visit in the summer in AUH is the Mall and the Mall and the Mall.
Do not believe people (specially management) when they tell you it is cheap here and no taxes to pay. Check the supermarkets prices and other product and you will see the prices for reasonable quality product are the same prices as in Europe. Petrol is the only cheap thing in AUH by comparison to Europe.
Housing is very expensive and do not let any one tell you otherwise. I read some of you thinking about renting a Villas...some of you are very funny!!!. As an alternative place some pilots lives in Jabal Ali (50 minutes drive from AUH Airport).
Most of the flight on EY specially the nights departure is usually around 2 am, this is usually for the Asian and European sectors.currently and (not sure if it is still the same as few months back) approx 12 flights during the day.The rest are in the evening.
The fleet is mostly new A330, A340-300,500,600 and on B767.
The food is GREAT.
Finally the summer is coming and I am glad I am not in AUH.OH I almost forgot, DO not get caught drink and driving, In fact do not get bloody drunk at all.