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Old 18th May 2009, 21:41
  #21 (permalink)  
Nightfire
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Do many pilots commute from Dubai?
Not that I know of. Upon arriving here, some guys preferred to search for their own accomodation, rather than spending several months in a hotel while waiting for the company to give them a flat. Of those, a few ended up in Dubai.

Their arguing was that one hour's drive from Dubai to AUH airport is just as well as taking one hour through Abu Dhabi morning rush hour to the airport.

I don't know if it's true. However, from Musaffah (where I live now), it's only 15 minutes to the airport, regardless of what time of day. Compared to the stress of the Dubai-AbuDhabi highway (people here drive like mad!), it's really incomparable. Especially after you've just come back from a long-haul nightflight, or if you are being called in from a standby. Something not to be underestimated.

So apart from a few rare cases, I don't think many guys would voluntarily choose to do that. If at all, it may work for pilots on the 777 or 340, who only do a couple of flights per month anyway. For somebody on the 320, it would be hell.

As for Musaffah: I like it. Okay, I had expected a villa too - thanks for yet another broken promise.
But now that I'm here, it's perfectly alright. The overhead costs are very cheap (about US$100/month), the building is brand new (no dirt, mould or run-down facilities), it's safe (24h security), you have maintenance on-site available, and whatever else has already been mentioned above.

The best thing about Musaffah: Plenty of basement parking spaces, and your neighbours are proper drivers, who don't wreck your vehicle within a weekend!

Last edited by Nightfire; 18th May 2009 at 21:57.