Actually it's not all bad here - not at all!! I like it! Ok we have no beach but we have beautiful mountains in Almaty and good nature....
Yes it's true, many expat left - specially on the 75/76.... Not everybody liked the wintere here and will like it - and there were opportunities in Mauritius as far as I remember.... probably also not a bad contract.
On the Airbus fleet I can recall that most pilots that I talked to are very satisfied with their contract!! Some stayed here even for several years and others returned because the grass was not greener at neighbours garden. If you are based in Almaty than you will see that the city has a lot to offer and it's easy to live here (except the smog over the city and fumes in the winter and also the slow traffic in the city and the bad public transportation system is an issue...).
And for sure the police is another big surprise here. Everybody can tell you a story about this - and you always end up giving them a "present" - or they will just take it from your valet!!!! yes it's the truth!!!
) because when they stop you they will find something that you did wrong. That's the other side of Kazakhstan.... also lokals don't like this.
The rest is ok here - I can not tell that the company is that bad. Many pilots even returned for x-mas this winter and case by case (probably depending on your past requests...??) for example I even got my birthday OFF. Of cause things could be better like a good requesting system etc but keep in mind, we are just contract workers here..... we are just filling the gap until they have trained enough locals.
Yes we have to be stabilized by 1500/1000' but also other airlines have similar strict stabilization requirements as far as I remember.... I think as a pilot you should be able to handle such requirements - yes we will be using more fuel because nobody will request a vis. app etc. but on the other hand, what is the problem guys????
And everybody knows that the airline is strict about this - and those who want to take chances like maybe being stabilized by 1510 maybe should not fly in Kazakhstan. Set your "gates" right and all will be easy.... They are not looking for cowboy pilots here - which is good that they will be filtered out!!!
On the Airbus we do not have so many layovers because mostly the lokals get them. I prefere this because comparing to other airlines during layover there is rarely any "crew-life" here. In general everybody goes it's own way after check in - which is a bit unfortunate.... Also in general we do not arrive together or leave the airplane as a crew - which was strange at the beginning but you get used to everything. So expect very fast check out after the flight....
Currently the airline is searching for pilots on the Boing and Embraer fleet.
Hope my post helps...... Good luck with your applications - -
