4891 USD per month at Gulf Helicopters....you guys still not paid for your days off I recall. Also, you have no medical insurance or long term or short term disability insurance either as I recall. If you opt for the 6/6 rotation you take a cut in pay as well too if I remember correctly.
Aramco is paying 5500 USD per month....for all months on or off on an 8/4 roster with 2000 USD towards your ticket home. No medical insurance, no disability insurance, and possibly no on job insurance beyond what is in their aircraft coverage. Food is paid for and nice accomodation.
AbuDhabi pays about 5250 USD per month for all months worked including leave months.....and also offers a reduced pay rate for a 6/6 roster as I recall. Also really crappy accomodation to live in as well and buy your own food if you can find transport to the market.
All three operators are behind the times regarding pay....they each claim to be competitive with each other....which they are...but the rest of the world is leaving them behind in pay and benefits.
I left Aramco after being offered a job in the USA....gave them a chance to improve their situation but they would not.....matched the pay, picked up medical insurance, short and long term disability insurance, company funded pension, self funded pension, college tuition reimbursement, work related training reimbursement, paid sick leave, paid holidays, paid vacation, and pay raises yearly. I went from an 8/4 roster to a 2 on/5 off roster . I pay Federal and State income taxes now...but the benefits value alone exceed the tax costs I incurred by the change. The company pension contribution is 3.5 percent of gross wages and the company matches up to 6 percent of my self funded pension contribution....those two things alone make up one third of the tax bill. Add in the medical, dental, and prescription insurance and I break even.
Except for the Income tax benefits.....working overseas isn't always what it is knocked up to be. I did the overseas thing for many years with several different operators.....had a good time in some places....endured others.....and saved a lot of money....but of late.....it just doesn't seem to be worth it. The absolute lack of medical benefits alone is enough to prevent me from working overseas again. One major illness or serious injury can cause you serious financial problems....the absolute lack of concern by management to that one issue was enough to convince me to seek greener pastures. When you compute the numbers for these jobs....you must factor in all the costs and benefits to be able to make an effective business decision regarding where to work. Sometimes staying at home and paying the tax works when fringe benefits are considered.
The only way we can force the wages up as pilots is to withhold our labor from the outfits that fail to pay reasonable wages and provide the fringe benefits modern society dictates as being proper and normal.
One man's opinion.