Hey guys,
I read a lot of sensible arguments from many of you. I don't pretend to know better than anyone, I just would like to share my own experience. So don't shoot the messenger, ok?!
I think that you lifestyle in Doha and how you feel with Qatar Airways really depends on your fleet. Therefore, as far as I am concerned, all of you might be right.
At first when I joined I was more in the pros rather than the cons. But after having been flying for some time with the A320, I don't really like anymore my life in Qatar. It has been less than a year I have been flying here it is true, but to give you an example I will fly tonight for the 6th night in a row. And I don't really sleep in the day (nobody really does, this is our physiology to recover better after a good night of sleep). This is kind of depressing and unsafe. Now don't get me wrong, my friends in the A330 and B777 seem to enjoy it.
From my personal survey, I would say 85% of the pilots I flew with agreed with me and plan to leave one day (no such plan for me yet). The rest didn't really want to talk about it or said they like the company but recognised that it was better when they arrived. Most of the pilots who left where from this fleet (40 to Etihad this month according to the rumours). I didn't have the time and energy to check this information (not sure I officially could) but it seems to correlate what people shared with me.
Regarding the title of this thread, I must confess that I was expecting more from a five star airline (too much obviously). I am really surprised they don't really try hard to improve this roster for instance (as it has been many years like that as I heard). Trust me, flying so much is dangerous as we are, both of us, fatigued when we do this kind of flights. Then maybe you will tell me : why don't you call it fatigued if you are?
Well I have no doubt on my future in the company if I do that every two weeks (my average). Nobody will do that but everybody should (because 100% of the pilots I flew with told me they were actually fatigued and agreed to say that it was unsafe), that would be the only way to change this. This won't happen.
For me flying is like sitting on a chair: one leg for the pilots (training, experience, practice, physical conditions...), one for the weather, one for the aircraft (maintenance, age, general conditions...) and one for the airport (navaids, facilities, runway, terrain and obstacles...). If you start your flight with already one broken leg, then an incident or accident can happen in case of any additional problem.
I am really surprised to see that my life and my job aren't really different from two of my previous companies, who were officially blacklisted for many years and didn't pretend to be a 5-star airline.
On a less vital subject, but still important, it is very hard for me to have a social life in Doha. Most of my friends are pilots too and our days off are rarely synchronised (especially when my roster changes with less than 24-hour notice). Even tired I pushed myself to go out and meet friends outside of the company, but it is not easy as many weeks can pass until the next time we meet. And going alone to a bar or a restaurant isn't really nice for me.
About the cultural aspect, I also came with the idea of learning the language and meeting the locals. But you go to the first two learning sessions, you have to cancel the third because of your job and you become lazy after. I am human, there is only so much I can do.
Safe flights to all of you.