Gulf Air Housing

[Che Guevara]

Just spoke to a friend (GF pilot) who has been given notice to vacate his villa in Budaiyah in six weeks.They apparently are going to knock down the compound, rebuild and double the rent (he pays 700 now).

This is not the first time this has happened recently but seems to be an ever increasing trend with the Greedy Landlords of Bahrain. With no Landlord / Tennant legislation of any substance, people's lives and families are being severely affected.

It appears that there are so many ex-pats who live in Bahrain and work Saudi with large rent allowances (1200 BD average) that expats who are on Bahrain contracts, including all of us simply cannot afford to move house without heavily subsidising the housing allowance.

So where does this leave all of us with our 'greatly improved housing allowance'? We will all face these issues sooner or later and my guess is sooner than we all think....there simply is too much greed out there and our housing allowance is simply not enough. If the company does not react to this ever increasing pressure on our rents and quality of family life, then it will loose a lot of people...can they afford this?

I for one do not intend to pay nearly twice my housing allowance for a very basic villa, nor do I want my family to leave the country because they cannot abide the poor quality of housing that we may be forced into.

Would it not make perfect sense for GF to build their own compounds and give us all something descent to live in without having to worry about being thrown out on the street. Emirates has done this very successfully because it makes perfect sense, one pocket to the other etc.

What do you all think?

[gulfboy]

Guys, spare a thought for CC.
Housing allowance of (drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrumroll..........) EIGHTY (80) BD per month.
Married CC, being married to other CC or not, are not allowed to stay in GF accommodation.

[Che Guevara]

Wow, did not know that.... :eek:

Good luck my friend

[picollo]

On a side note,
if you start with company housing, are you allowed to move out and accept the housing allowance at a later date?

Also where is the company provided housing?

cheers

[Bahraingeneric]

Yes you can and there isnt any!!

[Che Guevara]

Yes, you can move out and take the allowance.
There is no official company housing for pilots.The company housing department will sign a contract on your behalf with a landlord if the landlord accepts the company's contract, which many don't apparently. The company will organise the electricity, water connections and billing etc. The company will pay up to the max housing allowance and then you will pay the excess. That is about it I think...I stand to be corrected here if anything I wrote was incorrect because I personally got out of Gulf Air's Housing system about 9 years ago.

However with the current climate in the Bahrain housing market, the company would be wise to build or buy a couple compounds for their pilots as I don't know many who can or would be interested in paying the going rate of 1000-1400 for a basic, descent villa. Yes, appartments can be had for much less but for families this is not the answer usually.

Chao

[picollo]

Thanks guys.

I hope to be starting soon.
One of the questions I forgot to ask GF whilst I was there was about healthcare.

What is the process if one gets ill and has to visit the doctor.
Do you have to visit the clinic? What about after hours?

Also is it correct to assume that health care is included for self and wife?

thanks guys

[Che Guevara]

Luckily you don't have to visit the clinic...just use your card. The clinic is open from 8-15 Sun-Thur I think.
Yes, the family is covered too.

Chao

[sirwa69]

Of course quite a number of GF pilots have bought their own houses in Amwaj and Riffa Views and so they are their own landlords :O

On On

[ibelieveicanfly]

when you visit a villa during the selection process,that what EK promiss you if you have a family coming with you but you do not get it,surprisingly, when you start your job!!!crab
they lie to us.

[Che Guevara]

Yes, sirwa69 is correct, a few expats have taken the risk of buying here while the majority have not, perhaps because as I do, they probably already own properties in their own countries, know their vulnerability as expats and recognise the risk involved here etc.

Chao

[downNOgreens]

If you have the deposit or are planning on saving up for it, you are probably better off buying your own place and using the housing allowance to pay the monthlies. When/if you leave, the selling price could mean, at worst, getting all your accommodation costs back and, at best, make a handsome profit.

[Che Guevara]

This of course is possible assuming the neighbourhood is still in tact ....specifically our friends up North.
Lets hope so.

Chao

[brassplate]

this is another issue that will be coming to a head soon.

gf does not provide pilots with housing (they are supposed to, minimum two bedroom for singles and three for marrieds).
the allowance is insufficient unless you want to live like a church mouse.