Dubai / UAE

[barstewards]

A few questions for yellow snow or anyone else working in UAE (relating to your post on the banding thread)

If the NATS pension is closed to new members I will probably be looking for a new employer..

- housing allowance - what would your monthly allowance get you in terms of rent/mortgage?

- Bills - roughly what are the monthly bills such as electric, water, (council tax/rates?) etc

- Cost of living - apart from fuel, what is the cost of living like compared to the uk?

- Wives/family - do they generally find it quite easy to fit in (especially if they are used to working and suddenly they are a 'Jamera Jane'?

- Success rate - is there much of a failure rate in validating or do they generally pick the people most likely to succeed?

- Roster - is it a rolling rota so you know days on/off in advance + what is the annual leave entitlement?

- Pension - is there any company scheme or do you make your own provisions?


Thanks

[ImnotanERIC]

how do you go about enquiring?

[ImnotanERIC]

Yellow snow:

Do you know much about the ACC side of ops in uae? I have had trouble looking on the net. not really sure where to start. Does it provide service for all the uae? is there just one centre? What about the neighbouring countries? Is there a good working relationship with oman/iran/saudia arabia?You mentioned flights home. Is that one per year or more frequently?
Also , I see all staff do the night shifts. Is this due to much of the traffic turning up during the night. (judging by uk departure t/o times anyway)
thanks in advance

[autothrottle]

Yellow Snow,

I take it they have the padded toilet paper?

hope life treating you well out there!

A/T

[Red Dragon]

Yellow Snow,

Good post and pretty accurate. Just 2 things:

Salary (every ATCO earns the same) 34,089 AED PM (£5165)

Basically yes, but then adjusted depending on the whinging/negotiating done with the boss. Payscales are not transparent and some at lower grades earn more than their immediate superiors.

.....and do both radar and tower.

It's either/or, not both. The days of dual valids are numbered.



RD

[man friday]

yellow snow,

do you have the address/email to send the cv too

regards
MF

[Scooby Don't]

Up to 2.5 hrs in position actually, though depending on the supervisor it's quite likely that a 2.5 hr stint will be paired with a late start or early go.

Andrex is available in the supermarkets, though sadly is not provided at work where it may sometimes be needed after a brush with CIS airmanship...

As for housing, note that a villa which cost AED180,000 p/a to rent 6 months ago will now be offered at AED250,000 p/a or more. A recent arrival is paying AED240,000 or so for a 2-bedroom apartment. There is some hope among those who haven't bought that a correction is coming in the housing market, and with it might come a reduction in rental prices. In the meantime though, landlords here have a reputation for mercenary instincts.

[Yellow Snow]

Providing the Mods don't mind and no rules are broken, then the email address is below:-

The boss is happy for the email address to go on here, but this is for Approach and Tower only for DXB and the new JXB airport not area

[email protected]
FAO Eric melvin

I've got to disagree with you Scooby on rental prices, having only recently gone through it. 180-190K in JLT is about right, we've only paid 200k in The Links, for a new build 2 bed, 1600 sqft fantastic views and quality fittings. Looking in todays property pages, apartment rentals haven't changed a jot in the last 3 months, and there is good availabilty to keep it this way, as opposed to a villa where there is huge under supply. You may pay up to 240K to live on the palm, but that is an extreme.
Agree with everyhting else, landlords here are greedy, evil, arrogant, ignorant, greedy, evil.....people, almost as bad as estate agents, who are just simply lazy and useless here

[Scooby Don't]

Yellow Snow - I can only go by the advertised prices for the villa I'm currently sitting in! The same floorplan is now above 250,000, up from 160,000 at the start of the year and 180-190,000 six months ago. It is certainly not the fault of Serco that rents have gone crazy, and bringing in an increase earlier than expected shows a level of responsiveness that is rare in ATC management. Still, isn't it fair for an ATCO to expect to be able to afford a 3-bedroom, non-flashy villa?

Anyhoo, away from rental prices and whatnot, Dubai is a great place to work thanks to a cosmopolitan crowd who generally display a lot of humour and a great ability to support one another, especially when newbies are settling in. The work is challenging, and so is trying to last the evening after Friday brunch...

[man friday]

yellow snow,

thanks for that

Mf

[Trotsky]

Thank you fellows for all the info on Dubai. Does anyone here know how Abu Dhabi compares to the Dubai package?

I did look into it about a year ago and it wasn´t enticing enough for me to pick up my tent and go there, but things in the financial world have really changed in the last 6 months up here and the exchange rate has more than doubled since the IKR is becoming worthless:-)

Is the financial crisis having an effect in the UAE also or does money continue to flow from the ground?

Best regards and Thank you,

Trotsky
BIKF APP/TWR
Keflavík, Iceland

[rossbrereton18]

Dubai authority

Hi, i will be applying for ATC training in March 09, but my dream is to travel with the job eventually after becoming qualified, what is the name of the authority, like NATS in the UAE, for ATC employment?

[TheFalcon]

Serco is the Dubai ATS provider under government contract. rossbrereton18 you need to walk before you run,ie: get validated get some experience then fly to whatever and wherever you fancy. Contracts in the Middle East require a minimum of 5 years experience but looking at the way Serco employs people its normally from the geriatric ward! Good luck to you in your career.

To those considering coming over here be ready to deduct a significant amount from you salary for accomodation unless of course you want to live downtown in a rundown flat. There are no taxes here but they are actually everywhere. Housing is just as expensive as New york (or more) now and the governtment is doing nothing about it. Many companies are relocating for this same reason as now its spiralling beyond control!

[Caesartheboogeyman]

I know of two people who have moved to dubai with less than 5 years experience so maybe they are loosening their must haves

[Tower Ranger]

Hey Falcon,

geriatric? Speak for yourself old boy!! The average age of the Tower guys in Dubai is probably younger than at any Uk unit. The five year requirement is/was a Govt. requirement but if you have the proven ability then come and have a go!!

[Yellow Snow]

Serco will and have taken ex NATS into DXB with only 3 years experience.

Falcon, as a newish recruit here, the line about having to use a significant amount of your salary for accommodation is simply rubbish, see my earlier posts about the quality and costs of a two bed apartment, certainly not rundown or in a crap area. However if we're talking about a villa, then I fully agree with you.

[TheFalcon]

Well Yellow Snow I beg to differ. I didn't come here to live in a flat with my family views or no views. A tiny villa in the springs is going at 200k. If you are paying 190K for your flat remember that 20k of your allowance is for utilities. For me any payment for rent accom is significant. In the contract I was promised accom and utilities paid and this is simply not happening. I know for a fact that people have turned down the contract for this reason. If you are happy to live in a high rise flat thats fine. But most people (me included) didn't come here to live worse than at home so paying for a "decent" accom for this purpose means forking out. It may sound snobbish but if we let Serco think that it can keep our accom allowances low so that it can put us up in apartments then that is not going to happen. You are new here so maybe you would like to ask around how the old guys here lived b4 the current situation set in. Its a matter of quality of living. Dubai is still a hole in the desert and simply an artificial mock up city with no soul so for me personally a good home means a lot. Its a matter of perspective I guess.

[Scooby Don't]

Falcon - I would expect there to be an announcement in the near future which will make you somewhat happier. Serco management are aware of the housing situation and, I believe, would like to do something about it.

[Yellow Snow]

Falcon

You may beg to differ, however, your comment was:

To those considering coming over here be ready to deduct a significant amount from you salary for accomodation unless of course you want to live downtown in a rundown flat.

This is very misleading and untrue. As I've stated in my earlier posts.

I received a cheque for 190k from Serco and put another 10K in myself to get a fantastic 2 bed apartment that's far superior to the quality of accomodation I had back in the UK. Not sure what you mean about 20K utilities as I pay these bills myself, nothing to do with Serco.

I agree 100% with you that we should all have the same standard of living, as those lucky enough to be in PS, eg a 3 bed villa, with good amenities in an excellent location with all bills covered by the company, and it creates bad feeling/envy/annoyance that this isn't the case.

However unfair the above is, the facts are that Serco offer a very attractive overall package.

I'd like to think we're singing from the same hymn sheet, but, however unhappy you are with the situation, bear in mind there are ATCO's all over the world equally unhappy with their situation, and I think it only fair that they get the facts not opinion about Dubai.

All the best,
YS

[sparkyt]

Ever had ex-military come out and given it go?