Originally Posted by
STS135
Hello,
Some expats are still waiting for a house after almost 1 year and more and more pilots arrive. The company is unable to provide housing because the compound is full. And some houses must have a real refreshment before being usable.
New trainees will live in the hotel for a long long time. The company is growing and we don’t feel special efforts to improve anything. If you plan to relocate your family, just forget to be together before 6, 7,8...12 months.
The good thing being alone in the hotel is you will be fully available for the endless training and the dozen of exams, orals, simulator tests etc. you will have. It is not a piece of cake and you must study a lot if you don’t want to fail.
Expect at least 4/5 months training (even if you are already rated !) with unstable schedule, before approaching the aircraft (apparently worst on 777). Expect to push the people in the offices, for recovering the money you will give for the visas, Iqama, eventually the legendary relocation cheque (never paid)...and sometimes per diems.
The good thing is the wage arrives on time and if you attain the line training the salary is good. But about my experience I am disappointed by SVA. They don't care about you. When you call or you go for any information or help, the guy is never the one in charge of..
More and more guys think about leaving the company before the end of the training as they realize the mess.
This is an objective point of view and some are surprised when they discover the reality. If you want to fly for money it is the right place, but prepare yourself to have hard time…and think twice before leaving your current position.
I agree entirely. They have bitten off more than their infrastructure can chew. They have Saudi office workers who have jobs for life and who work short flexible hours and therefore getting jobs done and sorting out financial errors can be extremely frustrating.
Given the current accommodation situation and the fact that this contract is truly non commuting; I would suggest that if you have a young family it may be better to look for work at the big 3.