I am sorry to all of you who have PMed me but I simply can not answer all your questions individually. I will answer the bulk of them on the forum so others will not have to repeat the question.
Upgrade: this seems to be the most repeated question. Yes Air Arabia has a good upgrade program. The time to the beginning of the process is from 14-20 months now but I am sure it will decrease soon (see aircraft acquisition below.) The length of time depends on the pilot (assuming you have the minimum qualifications for upgrade – they do not bend and you will be passed if you don’t have them.) System knowledge is stressed but most guys have trouble “being a Captain.” All those other things only Captains think about every flight. You know, Cabin Crew, ground handling, connecting flights, take time to tanker or not etc.
Pilots: currently there are about 150 pilots but there should be about 500+ by 2012. Of the approximate 75 Captains 30+ were hired as F/Os (1 new Captain was released just today and several more are in the pipeline.)
Aircraft & Acquisitions: the company currently has 10 A-320s 77K (170,000 lbs.) MGTOW. The plan is for a fleet of at least 34 aircraft. The exact type has not been released but it will be either 737s or 320s. Watch the news at the Dubai Air Show for an announcement – my guess.
Stock: Many have asked me about my mention of the stock and restricted grants. Air Arabia did what most companies do for senior executives and gave restricted grants to only the pilots (and senior management.) This is a windfall for the pilots but as with any such incentive it has a maturity date. The grant was free. Captains received 250,000 shares and F/Os received 150,000 shares. The current stock value is 1.52 which makes this a 380,000 Dhm “present” to captains and 228,000 Dhm “gift” to F/Os. 60% matures in 3 years with 100% in 5 years but it cost nothing. Whatever the stock price is at that time – well that is what you get if you sell – you can keep it too. Dividends are a guaranteed 25% minimum of gross profits.
During the IPO there were other stock incentives for the senior pilots as well as bonus shares for workers, but that is past and not available to people joining now – the IPO is over and the stock trades publicly now. Future programs are – well, speculation on my part alone!
Scheduling: Still a mess but with the new incentives I see a large improvement because of the diverging desires of the various pilots. Some will want money and others will want days off while still others will want the different types of trips. These availabilities are there and the different monetary rewards will weed out the competition between pilots. The biggest problem with scheduling is the company is constantly short of crews.
Crew Bases: Currently OMSJ is the only base but the CEO has made numerous statements that they want bases in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (North Africa is my guess) and East of India (probably Kathmandu or Bangladesh.) The details are still some time away – my guess.
Trips & Layovers: The trips vary but the average length is about 7 hours block with 9 hours duty. The credit is between 8-10.5 hours pay under the new scheme. Everything (except VCBI) is an out and back – no layovers. So you will spend every day (or night) at home. While sounding nice it is a double edge sword. While you definitely will be home every day or night, you will also fly the next day or night. Currently flying is about 17-18 days average, but as trip times are increasing that will have to drop. You may amass 80 hour of block time in 11 days but will have to fly another 6-8 days to gain the final 12-20 hours – and you will have to fly it. This should change by the New Year, but as of today that is the way it is.
Second Officer Program: Yes, ABY has a 2nd officer program but it is quite stringent. Very difficult to get into and quite expensive once in. Pay = non existent, work = slave. Will fly for food is far too generous. However many have done so. Dispatchers and Cabin Crew are now flying the line as paid F/Os on the scale above and one former S/O is now simply waiting to amass flight time to upgrade. Technically challenging, for every flight is a check ride and you will have no life. But if you are up to it then go for it.
Retirement: the pilot force is quite young and there is little incentive by them to request a retirement plan. As a result there is none per say. The stock IPO has given quite a few of the older pilots the opportunity to amass a large amount of shares (many have over a million shares) but other than the restricted grants, bonus grants and IPO strike price purchases; there is nothing else. Well other than the standard UAE severance pay of 2 weeks per year employment. Will it change? Probably as the pilot forces ages.
Management: I labeled this topic “management” since several of you asked me “what is it like to work at Air Arabia.” I believe it is the management that sets the environment and in that respect it is quite good. Yes there are problems with scheduling and in the company’s ingenious way they have reduced that considerably. But from the CEO (who has a TRUE open door policy) to the Director of Operations the bosses are honest guys. They will give you an answer (you may not like the answer) but they will give you an honest one.
The company is turning into a true Southwest Airlines of the USA. The incentive is to save money for the company and by doing so the pilot increases his personal pay. The variety of working environments will now depend on the pilot’s personal desires and those can change at the pilot’s bequest. The growth is phenomenal with corporate profits reporting new records every month. For long term prospects I suggest you read Deutche Bank’s recommendation to institutional investors: a current buy recommendation at 1.75. Moody and S&P's ratings are AAa & AA+. So you decide – yes I am personally bullish on both the stock and the operation.
Dubai V. Sharjah: They are close neighbors and a large percentage of pilots live in Dubai. The boarder is less than 10 miles from SHJ airport and in many cases closer than downtown SHJ. Now the traffic – well there is enough stuff on the net to find out for yourself.
I hope this answers the bulk of your questions. If I did not get to your direct question I apologize in advance. Re PM me and I will get to it when I can – you have the lead!
Wild Weasel (Rumble 2) is Burners and Out!
Last edited by W Weasel; 10th Oct 2007 at 03:50.