Nakheel Aviation - Dubai

[approachchecks]

How Many Crew Are Left And How Many Still To Go?

Another cabin crew member just resigned.

That's 4 crew in 2 months. Maybe this answers all the questions about this company. Probably more to come.


PRICELESS

[Latte tester]

"The correct company and salary will come along sooner or later."

Obviously the drugs you are taking aren't working.

Listen to what people are telling you. I am still waiting for salary from a ME company since 2001, not that I''ll ever get it, but I'm just one of many who are trying to stop this from continuing to unsuspecting, rose-colored-glasses wearing, newcomers.

[m-e.flyer]

life is tough in the middle east

hmmm and I thought two cabin crew leaving are doing so as they would like to get away from flying. One of the captain's has never enjoyed the lifestyle of Dubai, bear in mind, living in Dubai is for the lifestyle and not saving money. Some of the hosties even have a maid, and certainly most of the pilots do. Maybe your sources arent all that correct.
For my part living in a sunny place way beats rainy Europe and having been back, the grass maybe greener there but certainly doesnt taste better.

Back to work it is- after a weekend of brunches in 5 star hotels by the marinas. Life is tough in the middle east.

[Latte tester]

M-E Flyer, If you are comparing DXB to some place like LHR or LGW then yes, DXB is a better place, but there are also loads of other places that Brits escaped to in order to get away from the dreariness of the small island. Perhaps brunches and maid service are enough for your lifestyle, but you're missing the point. Maybe you've had too much sun. Dubai lifestyle...hmmm, let me think... Oppressive summer heat, overcrowded city center, constant traffic jams, soaring prices and the forced religious shop closings... my kind of lifestyle - NOT!
There's more to life than sun and brunches, well at least there's more to MY life.
It would appear that you like the POSER lifestyle

[approachchecks]

M-E Flyer you have missed the point.

Your reply is such a bone head answer.

If this captain you are speaking about is drawing close to retirement, then who would not want to be saving money. Obviously you might be younger and have not thought that far ahead.
I am no where near retirement and if you cannot save money where you live and work, then what is the point of it. No one works for free.
With regards to lifestyle, well if you are not an emiratee then where did you come from to think that this is a good lifestyle?
As LATTE TESTER stated, traffic is appalling, extremely hot summers, constantly air conditioned environment and services that need much to be desired. NOT FOR ME EITHER, well not unless I am SAVING MONEY and EARNING a huge salary. If I was then I might consider it. Maybe this is M-E FLYERS only option.
Maybe M-E Flyer should get his head out the sand and start saving for the future.

[Catar]

What Lifestyle?

I agree with APPROACHCHECKS,

What type of fool, would be willing to work and not save money! Maybe the reason M-E Flyer is prepared to not save money is because he likes to spend his earnings trying to live this so called extravagant (false) lifestyle and therefore live above his means. Maybe he is a PLAYBOY WANNABE but doesnt earn enough to go all the way.
As M-E Flyer states "most crew have maids" maybe if they got off their lazy butts and did the ironing themselves then maybe they would be able to save. After reading all the other threads, they must have the time seen as they dont fly much. By the way not all flight crew have maids.

As for the cabin crew, I know one of them personally and she informed me the real reason that they have left was due to Nakheel being so badly mis managed and constant broken promises. Maybe Nakheel has driven them out of the flying industry after having such a bad experience within the company. After the stories i've heard about the chief hostee, it does not surprise me they want to go, I bet there will be more going.

[OAT55DEGREES]

DXB or LHR

I am lucky enough to be based in DXB on one of the older contracts, which I must say is really great. This was due to Dubai not being a sort after workplace when I was offered employment.
The workplace has not changed and I believe is getting worse(traffic/temps/housing/cost of living) so after reading this thread, I really do feel for the crew that work for this Nakheel Company. These companies must remember that without drivers there is no company so I personally think that they should look after the present crew they have, just as the company I work for does. We have not had a crew member leave in years!
If Nakheel doesn't mind the costs involved (training/relocation etc)of crew leaving every 5 mins then they must get on with it but they must expect to have a bad reputation and not mind the pax not seeing the same crew, thus not building a solid relationship with the regular clients. I believe it helps having stable and happy crew as this provides a good working environment both at and away from the aircraft.

M-E Flyer states that crew come here for the lifestyle and not the money but this is definately personel choice. With the current housing allowance offered by his Nakheel Aviation(earlier post) who can afford to stay here and maintain a reasonable standard of living? I personally dont have a maid or drive a fancy car and I bet my salary far out weighs theirs. Maybe if you go live in Sharjah Not my choice of residence, especially if you consider our qualifications, experience and time its taken for us to get this far.
As for this head cabin crew member, if she worked for us, she would have been booted long time ago. Maybe she offers services other than inflight services (to management) which keeps her employed

M-E Flyer and Nakheel Aviation need to realise that salary keeps crew

Good luck to the crew who are also looking at leaving!

[springbokflyer145]

The dreaded Nakheel Aviation

I am not sure of this but I think the Chief Pilot of this company used to be with Airlink in South Africa.

If it is the same person, then I personally do have to say I feel sorry for this company.
He is a company man and never used to really take care or worry about the crew. Not a chief pilot's butt to be honest. He only wanted to get the job done, no matter what. Safe or unsafe, cut corners etc that was not a problem. He always wanted to look good to management but one day when there is an accident, lets see how good he looks then.

If I had the choice of working under this person in sunny Dubai or having to take the miserable weather at LHR, then I would be packing for LHR.

Maybe these guys should play by the book to keep their planes and crew safe. There is no place for short cuts buddy. It will come back and bite you in the ass!

As for M-E Flyers comments, I know a few pilots in Dubai, and if ME Flyers is like them, then the reason why he keeps going on about how great the lifestyle etc is, possibly like a previous reply, its because he has no other choice. It's where he came from or Dubai. So he would have to look at the bright side. Anywhere could be better than from his previous place of residence.


Please lets make this clear, this is personal choice made from experience and facts about certain people. I cannot see this company getting any better with him around. (if its the same person)

It just makes you realise how small this industry actually is.

SBF

[m-e.flyer]

happy poser

Dear all,

instead of just taking your grudges onto this website, how about a little constructive feedback. If you know it all (especially about Nakheel, although none of you work here...) why not give out a little more info on where to go and what to do and not the opposite.

Seeing you are all happy with your great employers and lifestyle, what ar e you all doing on this site? You surely must have better things to do.

Admittedly I was lucky and have decent rent, pension schemes set up and great support from the family. But maybe you must all take the head out of the sand.

A few things about Dubai lifestyle:

Affordable brunch in a beautiful location with friends and family, watching the children play in a multicultural environment - priceless

children growing up multilingual- priceless

taking a cab at night, not being scared of being mugged- priceless

sleeping through the night not worrying about the house being broken into and one being killed- priceless

I m not sure when you all were last in Europe or where you maybe from. Traffic exists, of course you can live by the airport. Nice environment. Filling the car is well above 70 pounds. Salaries on new contracts not the greatest, many legs a day, no layovers, small flats.

It may come as news, but the wives actually work and support the family. Happily.

I agree coming to Dubai now and starting over is hard, especially considering schooling and rent and one needs to do the homework. But it everyone s own choice, people have different priorities and the right to choose. I m not sure why you all have to personally attack one another behind a website.

Dubai is changing, but it s not all bad. Its what you make of it. It would just be nice to see one positive person on here. But I guess happy people are out and about enjoying the freetime with friends and family.

And stores closing for prayer time???Dubai isnt Saudi.....in case you havent noticed.....but try finding a supermarket in many countries in Europe that has timings as the ones here, and oh....do not have anything delivered...it s only for the posers...in the meanwhile happy ironing guys.

Time to hit barasti and being thankful for what I have.

And dear all, the ops director (chief pilot) is extremely approachable and pro crew, nevermind the most helpful person in the company be it on a personal level or for work, in case anyone still cares to join the company I m sure he s open to your approach.

Happy flying for those who actually enjoy it

[sohat]

M-E Flyer,

Very well said.... My wife and I have been in Dubai now for exactly 1 year and we could not be settling in any better. We really like it here. Obviously it helps that I am lucky enough to be flying good equipment for a great owner but that alone is not enough to keep us happy, we find Dubai to be a very liveable city for all of the reasons that you mentioned and more. We hope to be here for a long time.

PM me sometime it would be great to catch up with you at Barasti for a cold one

Happy flying

[springbokflyer145]

As expected

Your comments
"taking a cab at night, not being scared of being mugged- priceless

sleeping through the night not worrying about the house being broken into and one being killed- priceless

You proved my point. By the sounds of things Dubai is better than where you came from and still as I commented, probably the only choice is there or Dubai so obviously you going to have to try make the most of it even if you have to put on a face to seem happy, who knows. Dubai might still not be the place you want to live but at least you are alive.

ME Flyer you obviously work for Nakheel due to a comment on your reply "none of you work here"

So come on then tell it how it truly is! By the replies on this site from some of your crew, it does not sound good. Maybe you should comment.

Sohat you make me laugh. Our point is that Dubai is not all that if you dont have this great job flying a nice machine and not being looked after. The point is crew will not be willing to stay if they are expected to work and have nothing in the bank at the end of the month due to living expenses. If housing is paid for etc etc then great, if its not then be prepared to battle.

If you are earning the AED100 000 per month then its wonderful. Hope you are buddy.

ME flyer i do look forward to hearing how it actually is.

[sohat]

Springbok,
I'm glad that I can entertain you
Like most of us viewing this forum I have traveled extensively and can say without a doubt that Dubai is one of the safest places that I have ever been. I think that was one of ME Flyer's points.
Of course any city has it pros and cons and Dubai has its fair share of both just like my hometown, maybe your's as well? For my wife and I the pros here in Dubai far out way the cons, so as long as that remains the case we will stick around.
I am not making anywhere near the amount that you mentioned per month but am still able to set aside some money and have what I think is a quality lifestyle here.
I think that you and I are saying the same thing just differently. I fully agree that this is no place to live if you are not being adequetely compensated, but where would be?
We find ourselves at a good time in this industry in that supply is not meeting demand for our services and we should take advantage of this.
There are airplanes coming to this region almost on a monthly basis and the seats up front are becoming increasingly difficult for the owners to fill with quality people. Once pilots stop taking the bad deals offered then the owners will be forced to come in line with other regions of the world.
I have heard that Nakheel is finding it tough to find good people to operate their new airplanes so maybe times are changing in our own backyard. Don't get me wrong I know very little about their department but we can all hope.....
I agree with your statement that you are looking forward to hearing how it really is. It would be nice if we could all know how it really is everywhere by putting some sort of a salary survey together for for this region. Similar to the NBAA or Professional Pilot Magazine Surveys in the US. I realize how difficult this would be to implement as the Owners and some Aviation Dept Managers would be hesitant to be truly forthcoming about their packages. Having said that I know that my department would be happy to participate in such a survey. How else can there be a regional industry salary standard?
At the end of the day if you are not happy with your deal and are unsuccessful in renegotiating and you are able then you should vote with your feet and leave. This will eventually bring the salaries up as long as there are so many airplanes to fly.
Maybe I have not been here long enough (1 year) to be jaded because I see things improving.
Happy Flying

[springbokflyer145]

Missing the point.

M-E FLYER - your comment "And dear all, the ops director (chief pilot) is extremely approachable and pro crew, nevermind the most helpful person in the company be it on a personal level or for work"

It doesn't matter how approachable or helpful someone is, what does matter is if anything gets done once a problem has been brought to their attention. From some the the replies in this thread, I gather not so this guy cant be that helpful after all.

"living close to the airport" maybe you don't mind having an aircraft come over your house at 600ft every 2 minutes, whilst you trying to entertain friends and family. Not my idea of a nice place to live just to be close to work

Sohat, I personally know crew from SA that fly for this Nakheel company. Your comment stating that Nakheel is short of crew - well I can tell you why that is.

If crew with a family decide to go work for them and arrive in Dubai and go house hunting for a 3/4 bedroom villa to house their family, then they will be looking at paying between AED170000 to AED220000 in rent PA. Now if Nakheel offers you AED120 000 PA in housing allowance, then you do the maths and see how much comes out your own pocket.

As soon as these guys arrive, see how the company and ops actually operate, they will be doing minimum time and heading off making this company always short of crew. It might work for single crew who can house share but what about crew with families?
What fascinates me is if this company has all this financial backing that it states it has, then why is nothing done to help make renting or even buying a home more easy? How many of the crew of this company own property in Dubai? I bet none as most cannot afford it and nothing is offered byt he company to help. I personally dont think they even care.

I bet the management know exactly what it costs to rent a 3/4 bedroom villa and once again nothing is done. You cannot tell me that Nakheel is not able to supply housing to the crew that they employ, they probably own 3/4 of Dubai! Im not sure but maybe the owners just see crew as another one of their servants and dont give a damn. Maybe the owners don't even know that there is a problem with crew and housing maybe this helpful chief pilot that is so approachable has not taken it any further than his desk or phone Who Knows. They must just be prepared to train new crew every few years at their expense, now thats good management.


Just one last thing to mention about this company,

They operate a GV with only 2 crew, so what happens when crew are ill, need leave or have personal problems? They now have one lovely GV sitting on an apron costing them money. Again great thinking from management

Maybe the thinking of this operation was done at BARASTI BAR

HAPPY FLYING

[approachchecks]

I think you have hit the nail on the head Springbok flyer

Springbok flyer I think you have hit the nail on the head.

That sounds about right with all the info I have heard from people with regards to the cost of living. I believe the housing allowance should be increased at the same rate as the rental increase. If it doesnt,I wouldnt be willing to pay the short fall and like the crew that have left, would be seeking employment elsewhere.

I heard that this company thinks they operate on the same par as Emirates. I bet the Nakheel crew dont get picked up for work, get given villa's (with all expenses paid) I bet if this did actually happen, they would see how far they are falling short on their benefits.

Maybe this management needs a wake up call. No good having lovely aircraft with no world wide experienced crew, with these decisions, can they actually call themselves management?

Rumour has it that they just purchased some hangers. I think they are going to need them as without crew, they will need somewhere to store these aircraft!
Maybe they should invest some more money into their crew and stuff the hangers.

MAYBE 2008 WILL BE A BETTER YEAR FOR THIS DODGY OUTFIT

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL

[LGW Vulture]

I hear they are to take the hangar that housed the Royal Pavillion during the Airshow.

[Silverspoonaviator]

I would work with them, if they offered me a Captains position

I think they are as good, or as bad as the rest in ME.

With a little bit of fine tuning, they would be better.

But then I am only a 1000 on type G550 driver, so what do I know.

ssa

[springbokflyer145]

Thats what most of the crew thought!

Silverspoonaviator your comment "I would work with them, if they offered me a Captains position" & I think they are as good, or as bad as the rest in ME.
With a little bit of fine tuning, they would be better.


From the crew that I know there, they said "That's exactly what they thought"
When they actually started flying and experienced first hand how their ops department and the company operate, you will be counting down the days to get out of there.

But hey this info only comes from crew that work there so what do I know anyway

spf

[jollyboy]

Anyone got any idea who is running the show now? Any name and contact details available? (PM if you have anything)

Thanks

[dbs]

Anyone have any updated info??

[skyhighgirl]

Any updated info or no one knows nothing??