Few questions about QR
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Few questions about QR
I'm a 25 years old italian pilot of Volare Airlines. 1800hrs total with 500 on the A320 and 1000 on heavy turbo prop. I would like to send my cv to QR but I don't know anyone who works there that could tell me about the company. So few question for the guys operating each day with QR:
1. How's the life in Doha?
2. Is there a good enviorment in the company?
3. Are there any career prospects?
4. Is it so different from EK?
5. What are the pro and cons for joining QR?
Thanking you in advance for all who wants to reply,
Lupin
1. How's the life in Doha?
2. Is there a good enviorment in the company?
3. Are there any career prospects?
4. Is it so different from EK?
5. What are the pro and cons for joining QR?
Thanking you in advance for all who wants to reply,
Lupin
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Timbuktu
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Lupin,
I wrote on a post called "Qatar Airways Info" many months ago about life, Qatar,Doha and as much as I could of put into a post reply as possible about Qatar. Here is what I wrote with a few updates added in:
=========
This is not a good place to get a true feel for what Qatar Airways is like and what Doha is like to live in but I will try to see if I can give you a quick insight of what I have heard and seen from people working there.
Mixed emotions in Doha are plentyful and on this forum you will see that the negative out-weights the possitive so you will always get a tainted picture of Qatar Airways and Doha. As a matter of fact this is true on any chat session about any place of work as the disgruntel people write in and complain about EVERYTHING.
Doha from what i know and see is nice, and if you are a family person and bring your family with you to the State Of Qatar it is easier than if you are there alone. Many nice people from all sorts of cultures and flying back grounds there and you can make it a nice place to live and work if you want to or you can sit in your home and complain, its your choice.
There is the Dessert, Bar-b-que by the ocean, few night spots only in hotels, many choices of foods to eat, ADSL fast internet if you want to be home, you can have a alcohol drink in the hotels and if you get a liquor permit you can buy booze and have in your home for those all night parties and bar-b-ques if you want. Only one place sells the Alcohol but there are plans to open more shops soon (soon could be ?????) a 4x4 vehicle, motorbike or boat are good idea to get if you go there to live as the dessert or the ocean are the only two place to get away from Doha for a quick day out trip to relax. If Golf, tennis or Squash are your cup of tea, you can find that also. Field hockey, football, cricket are also found at a few open areas in Doha.
A few malls to do some shopping, a movie theatre or two are there also. Watching DVDs you pick up in Colombo, Kuala Lumpur or Dhaka seems to be an enjoyment for some also. you could go (escape)to Dubai,Bahrain or Abu Dhabi also but that means going on an airplane again. My advice to you would be to keep a few tickets at your home for you and your family to destinations you like to go, so you can jump on a plane a very short notice and get away for a few days without the hassel of going to the Q-Tower to go through the painful process of geting a ticket for you and the family. If you are a single guy without any family, no need to keep a stock of tickets as you can just show up at the airport and get a ticket for yourself ( the employee) I have no idea why they don't do this process for the rest of your family, but I guess they ( Qatar Airways) are not sure how to manage this easy process. Sorry I meant VERY EASY PROCESS.
Depending on what fleet you are hired on and what seat you are in will kind of determine how hard you work and what kind of time off you get and where you go. Depending on how long you have been in Aviation you will also know that this will change as time goes on, you might join on a hard working fleet now but next year that fleet might be the easy fleet, you get my drift right? I am not sure what background you have but the work here seems to keep you on the road out of Doha a good bit anyway.
All in all, a job and a place are what you make of it so if you decide to go to Qatar and join the airline go with your eyes and ears open and see if that is for you. one key factor is to NOT keep comparing it to your old airline or your old home, you will always find things you don't like about a job and a place but comparing it to home and other places you have lived, IT WILL NEVER BE THE SAME.
Good luck and if you go, ENJOY IT!!!
==========
your 1,2,3,4,5 Questions were:
1. How's the life in Doha?
See above letter..........
2. Is there a good enviorment in the company?
Not much has changed here with QR recently with the way life is Organized in the airline. MANY MANY MANY things need addressing in all departments to make it a more efficient airline and instead of them ( QR) trying to fix a problem and get the work done in a more efficient manner, it seems that they make the system work against the employee instead of for the employee. This is true in Many areas that I personally deal with from day to day and "NOTHING" gets better, same excuses and same put the file on the desk and don't open it until the very last minute to do the job and rush last minute attitude is in abundance here at QR........... This type of attitude unfortunately is not only in QR ( they can be excused if you want to) but throughout all sorts of companies that have simular type of employees who dominate the work force.
3. Are there any career prospects?
If you join as a First officer, AHHHH......... you will sit for 3 years as a first officer they say ( "THEY SAY')and then you will be allowed to be considered for the interview to upgrade as a captain.......... Just ask some three year first officers here if they have been given a call??????? Try reading a few post about QR and see just how many of these 3 year First Officers have been upgraded and how many of them have been considered?????????................... The answer would be 2 out of the last 25 who were selected got the opotunity to upgrade and one failed.......... that would be a net upgrade of 1 (ONE) guy in a LONGGGGGGG TIME................ So back to your question about Career.................. Answer would be slim to none as Qatar Airways just seem to not encourage or promote this sort of advancement. It appears that the way things are going, you will be stuck as a first officer for a long time to life here at QR....... Yet they still hire guys directly into the LEFT SEAT from all around the world with little qualifications that have flown left seat at some small airline or non-schedule airline that have never flown ETOPS, spoken on a HF radio ( as they have only flown domestic India or domestic from there country). only flown narrow body and get direct entry wide body, who have less flying time than some of the First officers here that have been here for two, three years. Some of the captains they have hired here have been rumoured to have been fired ( fired is a hard word, I meant "Asked to Resign")from there previous airline, not flown for 1.5 to 2 years ( sitting without a job) and another rumour is that two guy flew the simulator into a mountain side during there trainig and now they are still here. I am not sure of any of these rumours so please dont say "Hajj Man Said" because we all know how pilots talk and these stories may be fabricated a bit. But I will say that when you are out on the line, ops, Q-tower and at any gathering, you hear all sorts of NIGHTMARE stories that go on .................
I just don't see how a company can take someone they know nothing about and give them a full type rating in the left seat and by-pass guys that have been with QR for 2.5 to 3 years, THAT THEY KNOW!!!!!!!!!! and have been seeing their attitute for 3 years and hire someone just because they have a left seat? Some of these guys that sit at that round table and make the rules to hold back first officers and the hiring practices, need to look back and try to remember when they flew in the right seat. You should never forget where you came from ....................
I am 100% sure that if the promotions here were more frequent, they would be less pilots leaving and looking to go to othere jobs around the world. You will still get people applying to QR but you will not have the massive amount of traing cycles for replacing pilots leaving. Yes there will be more internal traing but the cost will offset the amount of new hire traing 6 to 1.......... WHAT IS THE THINKING?????????????
4. Is it so different from EK?
I have no Idea about EK and what goes on there but I am sure you will find good and bad with EK.
5. What are the pro and cons for joining QR?
There are no pros and no cons for joing QR...........Personally I am enjoying the flying here, I enjoy the crew members I work with, I enjoy Doha ( I go out of the house and stay busy) and surf the internet also.
I will say that the company (QR) has a very long way to go before it will start to keep employees happy and stop the mass amounts on disgruntle faces and stories you see and hear from day to day at QR.
Very SADLY, I think that People will continue to make QR a transit stop of employment.
HM.
I wrote on a post called "Qatar Airways Info" many months ago about life, Qatar,Doha and as much as I could of put into a post reply as possible about Qatar. Here is what I wrote with a few updates added in:
=========
This is not a good place to get a true feel for what Qatar Airways is like and what Doha is like to live in but I will try to see if I can give you a quick insight of what I have heard and seen from people working there.
Mixed emotions in Doha are plentyful and on this forum you will see that the negative out-weights the possitive so you will always get a tainted picture of Qatar Airways and Doha. As a matter of fact this is true on any chat session about any place of work as the disgruntel people write in and complain about EVERYTHING.
Doha from what i know and see is nice, and if you are a family person and bring your family with you to the State Of Qatar it is easier than if you are there alone. Many nice people from all sorts of cultures and flying back grounds there and you can make it a nice place to live and work if you want to or you can sit in your home and complain, its your choice.
There is the Dessert, Bar-b-que by the ocean, few night spots only in hotels, many choices of foods to eat, ADSL fast internet if you want to be home, you can have a alcohol drink in the hotels and if you get a liquor permit you can buy booze and have in your home for those all night parties and bar-b-ques if you want. Only one place sells the Alcohol but there are plans to open more shops soon (soon could be ?????) a 4x4 vehicle, motorbike or boat are good idea to get if you go there to live as the dessert or the ocean are the only two place to get away from Doha for a quick day out trip to relax. If Golf, tennis or Squash are your cup of tea, you can find that also. Field hockey, football, cricket are also found at a few open areas in Doha.
A few malls to do some shopping, a movie theatre or two are there also. Watching DVDs you pick up in Colombo, Kuala Lumpur or Dhaka seems to be an enjoyment for some also. you could go (escape)to Dubai,Bahrain or Abu Dhabi also but that means going on an airplane again. My advice to you would be to keep a few tickets at your home for you and your family to destinations you like to go, so you can jump on a plane a very short notice and get away for a few days without the hassel of going to the Q-Tower to go through the painful process of geting a ticket for you and the family. If you are a single guy without any family, no need to keep a stock of tickets as you can just show up at the airport and get a ticket for yourself ( the employee) I have no idea why they don't do this process for the rest of your family, but I guess they ( Qatar Airways) are not sure how to manage this easy process. Sorry I meant VERY EASY PROCESS.
Depending on what fleet you are hired on and what seat you are in will kind of determine how hard you work and what kind of time off you get and where you go. Depending on how long you have been in Aviation you will also know that this will change as time goes on, you might join on a hard working fleet now but next year that fleet might be the easy fleet, you get my drift right? I am not sure what background you have but the work here seems to keep you on the road out of Doha a good bit anyway.
All in all, a job and a place are what you make of it so if you decide to go to Qatar and join the airline go with your eyes and ears open and see if that is for you. one key factor is to NOT keep comparing it to your old airline or your old home, you will always find things you don't like about a job and a place but comparing it to home and other places you have lived, IT WILL NEVER BE THE SAME.
Good luck and if you go, ENJOY IT!!!
==========
your 1,2,3,4,5 Questions were:
1. How's the life in Doha?
See above letter..........
2. Is there a good enviorment in the company?
Not much has changed here with QR recently with the way life is Organized in the airline. MANY MANY MANY things need addressing in all departments to make it a more efficient airline and instead of them ( QR) trying to fix a problem and get the work done in a more efficient manner, it seems that they make the system work against the employee instead of for the employee. This is true in Many areas that I personally deal with from day to day and "NOTHING" gets better, same excuses and same put the file on the desk and don't open it until the very last minute to do the job and rush last minute attitude is in abundance here at QR........... This type of attitude unfortunately is not only in QR ( they can be excused if you want to) but throughout all sorts of companies that have simular type of employees who dominate the work force.
3. Are there any career prospects?
If you join as a First officer, AHHHH......... you will sit for 3 years as a first officer they say ( "THEY SAY')and then you will be allowed to be considered for the interview to upgrade as a captain.......... Just ask some three year first officers here if they have been given a call??????? Try reading a few post about QR and see just how many of these 3 year First Officers have been upgraded and how many of them have been considered?????????................... The answer would be 2 out of the last 25 who were selected got the opotunity to upgrade and one failed.......... that would be a net upgrade of 1 (ONE) guy in a LONGGGGGGG TIME................ So back to your question about Career.................. Answer would be slim to none as Qatar Airways just seem to not encourage or promote this sort of advancement. It appears that the way things are going, you will be stuck as a first officer for a long time to life here at QR....... Yet they still hire guys directly into the LEFT SEAT from all around the world with little qualifications that have flown left seat at some small airline or non-schedule airline that have never flown ETOPS, spoken on a HF radio ( as they have only flown domestic India or domestic from there country). only flown narrow body and get direct entry wide body, who have less flying time than some of the First officers here that have been here for two, three years. Some of the captains they have hired here have been rumoured to have been fired ( fired is a hard word, I meant "Asked to Resign")from there previous airline, not flown for 1.5 to 2 years ( sitting without a job) and another rumour is that two guy flew the simulator into a mountain side during there trainig and now they are still here. I am not sure of any of these rumours so please dont say "Hajj Man Said" because we all know how pilots talk and these stories may be fabricated a bit. But I will say that when you are out on the line, ops, Q-tower and at any gathering, you hear all sorts of NIGHTMARE stories that go on .................
I just don't see how a company can take someone they know nothing about and give them a full type rating in the left seat and by-pass guys that have been with QR for 2.5 to 3 years, THAT THEY KNOW!!!!!!!!!! and have been seeing their attitute for 3 years and hire someone just because they have a left seat? Some of these guys that sit at that round table and make the rules to hold back first officers and the hiring practices, need to look back and try to remember when they flew in the right seat. You should never forget where you came from ....................
I am 100% sure that if the promotions here were more frequent, they would be less pilots leaving and looking to go to othere jobs around the world. You will still get people applying to QR but you will not have the massive amount of traing cycles for replacing pilots leaving. Yes there will be more internal traing but the cost will offset the amount of new hire traing 6 to 1.......... WHAT IS THE THINKING?????????????
4. Is it so different from EK?
I have no Idea about EK and what goes on there but I am sure you will find good and bad with EK.
5. What are the pro and cons for joining QR?
There are no pros and no cons for joing QR...........Personally I am enjoying the flying here, I enjoy the crew members I work with, I enjoy Doha ( I go out of the house and stay busy) and surf the internet also.
I will say that the company (QR) has a very long way to go before it will start to keep employees happy and stop the mass amounts on disgruntle faces and stories you see and hear from day to day at QR.
Very SADLY, I think that People will continue to make QR a transit stop of employment.
HM.
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Dear Hajj Man, thank you very much about your reply. I hope things will get better in the future. If they want to be similar to EK they've to improve their relationship with the employees, otherwise QR will remain a transit job as you sad. Still don't understand why they0re doing so bad about the command course.
One question more....is it true that there's an agreement between QR and EK about taking pilots from each company to the other? Could a pilot from QR join EK e vice versa?
Thanks again,
Lupin
One question more....is it true that there's an agreement between QR and EK about taking pilots from each company to the other? Could a pilot from QR join EK e vice versa?
Thanks again,
Lupin
Join Date: Jun 2004
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Hajj Man,
I have to agree with A300Man, you really write well and give a down to earth feel of what life is like in Qatar Airways.
Your post are always interesting and seem to "Hit The Nail On The HEAD"
I have to agree with A300Man, you really write well and give a down to earth feel of what life is like in Qatar Airways.
Your post are always interesting and seem to "Hit The Nail On The HEAD"
