Now having said all that other stuff, the salaries are fairly competitive in the ME. ABY’s rate for Captains with over 2000 hrs in type is 40,500 AED (11,050 US) per month without flight pay. That is what you get if you take vacation (or are out of time due to 900/year) and sit and don’t see the airport for 30 days.
Using the company’s numbers of “85 actual hours is 110 pay hours” is what I used. This is a new rating system so we have little experience with it at this time – give us a few months and we all will know.
Using their data will give you a monthly flight pay of 13,650 AED (3,700 USD) plus 1400 AED ($390) PD. That is not shabby at 55,550 AED ($15,200 US) per month. Remember the UAE HAS NO TAXES so what you make is what you keep (unlike in India.)
The perks are fairly straightforward, LOL, Insurance, School Fees, Bonus, etc. These things (other than bonus) may not increase your salary but reduce your expenses. When you send your children to good schools and don’t have to pay (or if you have a lot of kids only pay a percentage) it helps with the bottom line. Free ticket home, while maybe inconvenient for some, is really nice for those guys living in South America.
Now if the UAE will revaluate their AED (like business has called for nearly a year) then watch those numbers really mean something. 55K AED ($15K US) would quickly become $18,500 – $21,400 US per month – UAE TAX FREE.
I felt that I had to balance my other post with the money side for you mentioned cash in your post. And definitely in the ME just about everyone is here for the cash – nearly everyone.
Burners and out!