stop, stop, stop
Roster Patterns:
A320. Lots of night flights, mostly out and back flights. A couple of layovers a months in India or Europe. Most layovers are approx 24hrs. High duty hours and low flying hours.
A330. Mostly layover trips. Layovers 24 to 48hrs. Some trips will be operated on minimum rest, others after two or three days rest. Arguably the best fleet to be on in terms of rostering and varied destinations.
B777. Mixture of relatively short flights and ultra long haul. Therefore some out and back flights, other flights e.g. the USA would give you 24hr layovers. Some 777 pilots flying a huge amount, others doing one of two trips a month. Can't give you an explanation for this discrepancy.
Contactability:
Days off - you're not going to get called on days off unless your roster says 'XBTN' (to be notified)
Standby: Depends on fleet. If you are on the A330 there is a high chance of callout. Less so for the A320 and B777.
Report time for standby is 1 hour.
Buying and renting in Qatar:
Advise against buying due to the lack of legal support you would get here, and the difficulty many experience with local landlords.
Ball-park figures for renting. A nice two bedroom furnished apartment would be 8000 - 12,000 Riyals per month depending on area and quality.
Three bed furnished villa - 10,000 to 15,000 per month.
The housing allowance for FOs is 10,000 per month, for Capts it is 12,500 per month.
As it stands for new joiners, only Captains are allowed to take the allowances and move out of company accommodation. In theory a Capt at QR should be given a company villa, but due to lack of availability they may only offer you a three bed company apartment or the 12,500 allowance.
As an FO you will be allocated a three bed apartment in Ain Khalid Gate.
Things to do:
Inland Sea/dessert, the Souq Waqif, shopping malls, golf course, a few bars and clubs at hotels, the Islamic Museum, cafes and restaurants, the swimming pools or sports facilities at the Ain Khalid Gate compound.