Abu Dhabi GT 767 First Officers

[Bendy Lady]

Hello all!

Just a few questions regarding Gulf Traveller 767 Abu Dhabi First Officers. What are the rosters like, how many days at home/away are they stable etc? Whats its like living and working in Abu Dhabi especially married with a new baby? (I am a bloke, I know my username is misleading)! Please respond with anything good or bad as I would be most grateful to hear your opinions.

Thank you!

[ironbutt57]

Roster is busy now...but once published for the month, not subject to change unless called out on stby if a standby carries you into a day off, the off day will be replaced, and you will get paid the callout rate you will learn the subleties of dealing with crew control as you go along....learning this makes life much better

rostered usually for 8 days (minimum req'd by reg's) off occasionally more, but not likely... usually in pairs or threes ...but more nights at home as some trips are day blocks, or overnight turnarounds which put u home for the afternoon night even though it is a work day.

you will probably find yourself inclined to live in Dubai, most of the family types do for a variety of reasons..the drive to AUH airport is about the same time as from downtown here..and housing is more reasonable.....take a room here at Capital hotel in AUH for first month,(or whatever..i lived there for a year) rent a car,(bring an international driving licence) and drive the missus around to dubai and auh and let her decide...(traditional way it,s done) best idea...surely some co-workers who live in Dubai can point you in the right direction....AUH city living..dubai more like the 'burbs..

after a while you find yourself drivinglike everybody elsehere, and will get lots of tickets when you go home on leave....make sure you have a driving licence current in the country in which your passport was issued....

see ya down here!!! pm me when u arrive help out if i can...

[Joe Monsoon]

I would not TRUST what some one WHOs PRO PRO PRO office says.Out of job take IT Other WISE BE:cool:

PS sorry ****but57

AM AN FO with GT was out of a job it s hard mate. :yuk:

Language edited. 4HP

[Verified]

Joe Moonsoon, i bet you wished you were still flying the old monster!

[ironbutt57]

Yo! Joe Blow(Monsoon)!

Nobody said it was easy dude...:rolleyes:

[Bendy Lady]

Thank you ironbutt57 and Joe Monsoon for your replies. Anything else you or anyone can think of would be great!

[Trader]

Any guys commute from out of country?

[NTM]

Hey Trader,

Yes.
Some do it from Europe (LHR), India. They go home at least once a month. Not for long period, but they are home.
Canada, US. It is a lot harder, but possible. And you would have to redefine commuting then. ;)
Personally (California), I manage to get back every 6-8 weeks, for about 1 week each time. That is excluding the 52 days of leave per year.
We take the leave in 2 separate blocks of 26 days. I don't believe we can break it into smaller periods.
If you live on the east coast, probably easier.
But the rostering people will help you. You scratch their backs, they will scratch yours...Be prepared to be their B----....
Also be ready to work to the maximum limit to achieve this. With the absolute minimum rest in between trips. Given that we are given 8 days off a month. Sometimes more (9,10). But 99.9 % of the time it is only 8. [ Sounds bad, but it isn't. If you lived full time on base, you could be home about 15-20 nights a month]
I found that the best way is to;
Request the last 4 days of the month off and the first 4 days off of the following month. You get that most of the time. :E
Then You "work" with rostering to modify a few trips to extend that period by a few more days. It is a lot of work to achieve this. But absolutely possible.

God Luck,
:ok:

[leekmas]

I hear that a fair few pilots actually live in Dubai and commute to work in AUH. How does that work out regarding cost of accomodation, transport, school and the inconvenience or is it a better option?
Can you ask for a Bahrain basing on the 767 even if you're AUH GT allocated?:confused: :confused: :confused:

[ironbutt57]

leekmas....if you are "GT allocated" then it is the UAE for you...if you "suggest" strongly to our fleet secretary...(wing commander, 'coz she's the real boss in BAH...but we got a good one here in AUH as well) you prefer BAH you might get it...not too sure of crew requirements for either base...a very fluid situation indeed....if you are bringing the missus and rugrats...Dubai is the way to go for sure....single... either AUH or Dubai....at the end of the day, flash destinations or not, all fleets get to the hotel, sleep eat, have a go at the dunny, then off to work..whether it's paris or Dhaka....GT 767 will net you more money because of the hours and and allowances....and all the crews that LIKE the 767 make it a good place to be...despite the past problems GF has never had a late payday...more than I can say for some of my previous employers...:ok:

[leekmas]

ironbutt57, thanks for the rundown. Could you also advise what routes/destinations the Bahrain based 767s do; I have a general idea of the GT routes.:ok: