Tom,
If you want stability steer well clear mate. Last year ADA lost 25 pilots through either resignation or termination (often on some pretty flimsy excuses). Not sure what it is this year but must be pretty much the same as last. Most guys leave because of the money or the fact that they're treated like bottom-dwelling lowlifes.
There have been several instances of guys arriving, taking one look at the accommodation and leaving on the next flight! This is not surprising. They'll tell you the accommodation is not too good and they're shortly moving, but this is the same tired story they've been pushing out for years. The truth is that you'll live in a filthy, mould covered plywood shack that's about 25 years old. These so-called 'vans' have dirty, curling carpets on the floor, laden with dust mites, dirty furiture and mostly shared bathrooms. The airconditioners are meant for the desert (because they're cheaper than real air conditioners) and only cool the air, so the humidity means that the walls of the rooms are covered in horrible black mould. You have to do your own shopping for food, but the buses do not really run at a convenient time for most pilots.
For your first tour you'll probably be told that you may have to work a couple of weeks extra 'to fit into the roster', but this can easily run to an extra 4, 5 or even 6 weeks extra.
If you opt for a 6/6 roster the pay is really lousy and isn't the same every month. This means you'll join the long queue of other pilots going along for the monthly shouting match with the accounts department. This will get you absolutely nowhere as they are all graduates of the Mumbai school of polite obstruction and bureaucracy and all you will leave with is a red face brought on by your high blood pressure. It will not improve no matter how many times you visit them. The same will often be true of your ticket for your flight out on leave and even if you book it yourself (recommended if you want to get out), almost every leave you will have a battle with the bureaucrats.
Training - there isn't any! Safety is a joke and if you're unwise enough to put in a hazard report, your words will be twisted and you'll be laying yourself open to 'being allowed to go' when it has quietened down.
Hope you're good at basic flying because on your occasional flights in a Bell 212 there's no autopilot and it's all single pilot.
The upside is that it is nearly all single pilot, the sun always shines and Abu Dhabi is a modern, safe city with all amenities. There used to be a very good bunch of guys out there from many different different countries, but they really are not well treated, so think long and hard before deciding what to do. Maybe you'll get some replies from guys who have a different view than I do - let's see.
