Jeddah 2002
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Join Date: Dec 2001
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Jeddah 2002
Just wondering if there are any other Hajjers out there! Air Atlanta have very kindly invited me to spend a few months in sunny(?) Jeddah with them for the oncoming festivities and having never been there before is there anyone out there who can tell me what goes on/activities, being a dry state i guess we'll have to make our own amusement! im also the only one from my company going so im gonna be lonely!!! get back to me!! this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship!!!
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Ops Jockey
Did a Haj many moons ago and got chased by a pack of wild dogs as soon as set foot outside the Hotel so watch where u go.
Got arrested by the Police for driving a forged ramp vehicle we had bought in from the UK
Punters where better behaved than the average Charter Punter but they where Malaysians which are
a lot better than some that are carried.
Worst bit was carrying the dead ones off at the end on a few occasions
Apart from that thoroughly enjoyable experience and even met Idi Amin who was resident in our Hotel!
Guess a few more new operators out there this season as World Airways not going for obvious staffing reasons.
Main prob in Jeddah is lack of comms, e mails a touch difficult but would imagine that Air At have got it sussed as they are good at doing this sort of op.
Did a Haj many moons ago and got chased by a pack of wild dogs as soon as set foot outside the Hotel so watch where u go.
Got arrested by the Police for driving a forged ramp vehicle we had bought in from the UK
Punters where better behaved than the average Charter Punter but they where Malaysians which are
a lot better than some that are carried.
Worst bit was carrying the dead ones off at the end on a few occasions
Apart from that thoroughly enjoyable experience and even met Idi Amin who was resident in our Hotel!
Guess a few more new operators out there this season as World Airways not going for obvious staffing reasons.
Main prob in Jeddah is lack of comms, e mails a touch difficult but would imagine that Air At have got it sussed as they are good at doing this sort of op.
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Scary stuff! i'm sure all will be well once im there, its just the initial aprehension!! i'm sure that once i get to know them, the religious police are all pussy cats! Have loads of questions still! ive looked in a few books but theres not too much info on Jed. Mainly need to know about living costs (food/drink/shopping etc...)cash machines,entertainment(!!)the best way to get around (taxi/bus?) im also unsure of the wherabouts of Rose Village (the Air Atlanta complex)im not even sure what the job entails yet!!. It may all sound like basic stuff, but forwarned is forarmed! If any one has got any info i'd be very grateful...im new to all this sort of stuff!!! If you want you can even e-mail my hotmail account! [email protected]
Yo'all have a nice day now
Yo'all have a nice day now
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I guess that you are in for a surprise!!!!! But it should be a good one! I would however recommend that you bring a can of anti-freeze fluid with you, you might need it to get close to the Icelandic F/A's! <img src="smile.gif" border="0">
As for the religious police, I would be very surprised if you actually got to meet any! They are keeping a low profile thanks to the Governor of Makkah.
Living costs, the price of food is pretty close to the UK provided that you don’t want imported brand names. Eating out can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it, but the cost of eating in Chillis or TGIF is about the same as the UK. A bottle of scotch will cost you £120 while a Gallon of local moonshine will cost around £25, wine is around £2 per litre and beer is a little cheaper, unfortunately none of this is available off the shelf, but you shouldn’t have any problem finding it.
Cash machines are available in abundance. Entertainment is what you make of it, this is where the can of anti-freeze will come in handy! <img src="smile.gif" border="0"> With a little effort, you can end up with a pretty active social live for the period that you are there.
Rose Village isn’t in Jeddah, its around an hours drive from the city center, I believe that they have a compound shopping bus that will bring you to the city or major malls, for social purposes you can expect to pay around £20 each way by taxi, but this will generally be divided by a number of people.
Things have changed since Mr Angry from Purley was last there. They should have an Internet cafe in the compound, so emails and communications wont be a problem. Your UK mobile phone will also work provided that you have roaming services on it.
As for the job, I understand that they have 2 dispatch offices in Jeddah, one is located in Rose Village for Hadj flights operated for airlines other than Saudia, and a desk located in the Saudia dispatch area for the flights they operate for them. Air Atlanta usually has a pretty active Hadj program with up to 7 or 8 aircraft and a couple of hundred people all living in Rose Village. I don’t know how many aircraft they are bringing this year as they have competition from Kabo Air with 7x B747’s and Gulf Falcon.
If you are arriving as a normal passenger, be very weary about taking DVD's or magazines with you, if you run in the wrong customs guys you will have them confiscated, the same warning goes for foodstuffs containing pork or alcohol.
I believe that 18 Wheeler is presently in Jeddah as an Air Atlanta F/O, if you put your message in the Oz forum you might be able to contact him.
Finally, leave any discussions about politics or religion for the pub back in the UK.
Enjoy.
Mutt
As for the religious police, I would be very surprised if you actually got to meet any! They are keeping a low profile thanks to the Governor of Makkah.
Living costs, the price of food is pretty close to the UK provided that you don’t want imported brand names. Eating out can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it, but the cost of eating in Chillis or TGIF is about the same as the UK. A bottle of scotch will cost you £120 while a Gallon of local moonshine will cost around £25, wine is around £2 per litre and beer is a little cheaper, unfortunately none of this is available off the shelf, but you shouldn’t have any problem finding it.
Cash machines are available in abundance. Entertainment is what you make of it, this is where the can of anti-freeze will come in handy! <img src="smile.gif" border="0"> With a little effort, you can end up with a pretty active social live for the period that you are there.
Rose Village isn’t in Jeddah, its around an hours drive from the city center, I believe that they have a compound shopping bus that will bring you to the city or major malls, for social purposes you can expect to pay around £20 each way by taxi, but this will generally be divided by a number of people.
Things have changed since Mr Angry from Purley was last there. They should have an Internet cafe in the compound, so emails and communications wont be a problem. Your UK mobile phone will also work provided that you have roaming services on it.
As for the job, I understand that they have 2 dispatch offices in Jeddah, one is located in Rose Village for Hadj flights operated for airlines other than Saudia, and a desk located in the Saudia dispatch area for the flights they operate for them. Air Atlanta usually has a pretty active Hadj program with up to 7 or 8 aircraft and a couple of hundred people all living in Rose Village. I don’t know how many aircraft they are bringing this year as they have competition from Kabo Air with 7x B747’s and Gulf Falcon.
If you are arriving as a normal passenger, be very weary about taking DVD's or magazines with you, if you run in the wrong customs guys you will have them confiscated, the same warning goes for foodstuffs containing pork or alcohol.
I believe that 18 Wheeler is presently in Jeddah as an Air Atlanta F/O, if you put your message in the Oz forum you might be able to contact him.
Finally, leave any discussions about politics or religion for the pub back in the UK.
Enjoy.
Mutt
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OPSJOCKEY- unless things have changed dramatically the best bit of Jeddah is under the water so if you dont scuba already get yourself down to the local dive shop which I suspect will be PADI and learn a life skill. You'll meet a great bunch of people and the diving around Jeddah will give you a buzz for certain.
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Hey Mutt! Hope you're well!
just a quickie to say thanks for the info! Nice to have some positive input! Have posted a ditty to 18wheeler as per your reccomendation! we'll see what happens! Thanks for your time!
Speak soon!
Jock
just a quickie to say thanks for the info! Nice to have some positive input! Have posted a ditty to 18wheeler as per your reccomendation! we'll see what happens! Thanks for your time!
Speak soon!
Jock
