Joining Qatar Airways (QR) - all you need to know about it (threads merged)
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@Geronimo, English was actually the 2nd of 3 foreign languages one must study in order to graduate (apart from the technical subjects). That has been some time ago, but yes, it was said to be a good fundamental education which was mandatory in order to commence professional flight training.
non scholae sed vitae discimus... (I never thought I would actually ever say that, but it's kinda true)
But enough to that, it was not meant to be offensive, and still is not. Its a matter of effort you put into something and a matter of politeness/respect towards your conversation partner/employer/whatsoever . (I guess thats why we all should additionally start learning Arabic, Russian, Indian or Chinese - depending on what the world is gonna be like in a few decades) Even if they don't give a **** about it. Old school, old fashion.
@TRIPPLE 7
- Did you get this information from the inside?
- Does it also refer to the pool or only for new interviewers? e.g.: will only be people hired from the pool that can be transferred/standardized on the 777?
Which would mean: No 320/330 typeratings within 8 months, although many 320 people are changing to the 787 or left to across the lake?
- If you are from the inside: Why are you still running interviews although you have such a big backlog?
Don't you think that giving passed applicants/signed contract/offer of employment people with security check (in general the talent pool people) regular information and not making them feel left out, will make them choose your company over the first (and often not best) choice for another job that runs across them?
Transparency is not always a bad thing, it actually can help sometimes, you know...
non scholae sed vitae discimus... (I never thought I would actually ever say that, but it's kinda true)
But enough to that, it was not meant to be offensive, and still is not. Its a matter of effort you put into something and a matter of politeness/respect towards your conversation partner/employer/whatsoever . (I guess thats why we all should additionally start learning Arabic, Russian, Indian or Chinese - depending on what the world is gonna be like in a few decades) Even if they don't give a **** about it. Old school, old fashion.
@TRIPPLE 7
- Did you get this information from the inside?
- Does it also refer to the pool or only for new interviewers? e.g.: will only be people hired from the pool that can be transferred/standardized on the 777?
Which would mean: No 320/330 typeratings within 8 months, although many 320 people are changing to the 787 or left to across the lake?
- If you are from the inside: Why are you still running interviews although you have such a big backlog?
Don't you think that giving passed applicants/signed contract/offer of employment people with security check (in general the talent pool people) regular information and not making them feel left out, will make them choose your company over the first (and often not best) choice for another job that runs across them?
Transparency is not always a bad thing, it actually can help sometimes, you know...
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A mate of mine is in a similar boat - he has been in the pool for months and months with very little communication. It is very stressful for him and his family. As stated before, Qatar Airways recruits its HR department personnel from Somalia. 
Complete incompetence and no regard for professionalism. Surprising at times that the CEO Al Baker strives for a 5-Star rating for passengers and yet the internal organization he controls would rate roughly 1 star when compared with the Legacy carriers it wishes to supplant. 
HR at Qatar is a complete JOKE and they will lose out on adding great and experienced pilots who will instead move on to better careers at EK and the other big UAE carrier that shall forever remain nameless... Quite a shame when you think about it. Disappointing since I have been a big fan of QR in the past and I am a fan of their growing fleet and network.
IMO, it really could be a fantastic career if they could improve their internal organization and the treatment of pilots (wishful thinking I guess 
...).
Bottom line: pilots seeking jobs in the ME should focus first on EK and the other UAE carrier and then view QR as a desperate back-up plan if the other 2 options do not work out.
The lack of professionalism, communication and transparency displayed by QR with regard to pilot hiring and training is both shocking and disappointing to say the least.
The key point for aspiring Qatar Airways pilots: if QR treat you this poorly BEFORE you are hired (no communication or respect), think about how your job could be AFTER training. Not a good sign.
Complete incompetence and no regard for professionalism. Surprising at times that the CEO Al Baker strives for a 5-Star rating for passengers and yet the internal organization he controls would rate roughly 1 star when compared with the Legacy carriers it wishes to supplant. HR at Qatar is a complete JOKE and they will lose out on adding great and experienced pilots who will instead move on to better careers at EK and the other big UAE carrier that shall forever remain nameless... Quite a shame when you think about it. Disappointing since I have been a big fan of QR in the past and I am a fan of their growing fleet and network.
IMO, it really could be a fantastic career if they could improve their internal organization and the treatment of pilots (wishful thinking I guess ...). Bottom line: pilots seeking jobs in the ME should focus first on EK and the other UAE carrier and then view QR as a desperate back-up plan if the other 2 options do not work out.
The lack of professionalism, communication and transparency displayed by QR with regard to pilot hiring and training is both shocking and disappointing to say the least.
The key point for aspiring Qatar Airways pilots: if QR treat you this poorly BEFORE you are hired (no communication or respect), think about how your job could be AFTER training. Not a good sign.
Last edited by Iver; 30th Nov 2012 at 00:04.
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Perhaps now all of you can understand the meaning of 5 star. Try to guess! Why a bunch of pilots is leaving the company with all this expansion. 
"professionalism, communication and transparency".
"professionalism, communication and transparency".
Last edited by Captain Partzee; 30th Nov 2012 at 03:22.
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For those who are playing everything on one card, I dont think you have to press the panic button or jump into the abyss yet.
A few days ago, Jmodel was telling something completely different. I believe Triple seven meant no more interviews, instead of no hiring, until next summer, which would make complete sense... finally... with a pool of the size of a lake.
With quite a few pilots leaving every month for whatever the reason, no hiring for the next seven months is just crap. Moreover, QR is getting four more shiny airframes just next months, then more in the next half year, and they need people to be ready at latest by next summer when (if) NDIA opens.
So, keep calm and carry on. This is a rumour network after all.
A few days ago, Jmodel was telling something completely different. I believe Triple seven meant no more interviews, instead of no hiring, until next summer, which would make complete sense... finally... with a pool of the size of a lake.
With quite a few pilots leaving every month for whatever the reason, no hiring for the next seven months is just crap. Moreover, QR is getting four more shiny airframes just next months, then more in the next half year, and they need people to be ready at latest by next summer when (if) NDIA opens.
So, keep calm and carry on. This is a rumour network after all.
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morally bankrupt
Yes you may get hired; eventually! but depends on whether you have respect for yourself to just wait around with no communication....
"oh please sir, can I have some more of that uncertainty; more of that no communication; more of that i'll treatment when I get in..... please"!?
This may be a rumour network, but clearly some here know what the hell they are talking about...meanwhile, alot of the "swimmers" just keep ignoring the reality
just because they are getting "airframes" as someone mentioned, it does not mean they will hire you. Even if you are in "talent" pool.
If you have no much experience, then you will be overstepped by Type rated people with experience at this stage or jet jocks with experience.
And that will happen as well while you wait on ground here for your line training as also mentioned . The is NO seniority number protection and so while your overstepped when sitting on ground in doha, your cmd and fleet transfer are all being pushed farther away!
My advice if to keep looking for other jobs. I agree, your situation may be different, I dont need to know, but dont wait around like a b*tch if you dont have too.... QR/Qatar is not worth it unless you got no other options.
On a moral note, these are the people you so crave so much to slave/work for:
human rights qatar - YouTube
A poet sentenced to life in prison in Doha:
Qatari poet Mohammad Al-Ajami sentenced to life in prison | Doha News
Villagio fire trial:
Villaggio fire trial postponed after lawyers ask Nike to be charged; defendants plead not guilty | Doha News
Typical: Qatar always blamming somebody else for problems..... you can look around for more of the tragic treatment of the victims families.... and you think that no communication by QR is isolated case!
Human rights in Qatar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
you can bury your head in the sand and be just another expat pr*ck or you can take in all the factors before coming here and make a well rounded judgment.... sadly, I did not know alot of this stuff before i came here and if I did I would not have come.
"oh please sir, can I have some more of that uncertainty; more of that no communication; more of that i'll treatment when I get in..... please"!?
This may be a rumour network, but clearly some here know what the hell they are talking about...meanwhile, alot of the "swimmers" just keep ignoring the reality
just because they are getting "airframes" as someone mentioned, it does not mean they will hire you. Even if you are in "talent" pool.
If you have no much experience, then you will be overstepped by Type rated people with experience at this stage or jet jocks with experience.
And that will happen as well while you wait on ground here for your line training as also mentioned . The is NO seniority number protection and so while your overstepped when sitting on ground in doha, your cmd and fleet transfer are all being pushed farther away!
My advice if to keep looking for other jobs. I agree, your situation may be different, I dont need to know, but dont wait around like a b*tch if you dont have too.... QR/Qatar is not worth it unless you got no other options.
On a moral note, these are the people you so crave so much to slave/work for:
human rights qatar - YouTube
A poet sentenced to life in prison in Doha:
Qatari poet Mohammad Al-Ajami sentenced to life in prison | Doha News
Villagio fire trial:
Villaggio fire trial postponed after lawyers ask Nike to be charged; defendants plead not guilty | Doha News
Typical: Qatar always blamming somebody else for problems..... you can look around for more of the tragic treatment of the victims families.... and you think that no communication by QR is isolated case!
Human rights in Qatar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
you can bury your head in the sand and be just another expat pr*ck or you can take in all the factors before coming here and make a well rounded judgment.... sadly, I did not know alot of this stuff before i came here and if I did I would not have come.
Last edited by disagreeable; 1st Dec 2012 at 07:42.
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My friend is a Second officer swimming from june....got end of august, end of november updates.... hope we all got called soon..... the rate now should be 40/45 pilots month.....
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My friend is a Second officer swimming from june....got end of august, end of november updates.... hope we all got called soon..... the rate now should be 40/45 pilots month.....
They cant even train the SO's they got now! some have not even done any flights or sims for over 13months now! Why the hell are they gonna hire more SO's!!
10/10 for hope, 1/10 for reality.
The hiring rate will be slower for the forseeable future but still trickling in. I think I am talking to alot of bone headed people, but I'll repeat it again; keep looking for other work (dont have to be jets) and keep flexible; You dont need QR, and QR certainly doesnt need you (as much as you think they do!)
Some may critique me for my cynasism but at least I aint gonna spout stuff that gets you all hopefull just for you to be let down again!
Last edited by disagreeable; 2nd Dec 2012 at 17:37.
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Dude,
i never said he will start tomorrow, i just said he got a contract. Since you sound so good informed you should know that there are 2 classes every month... the latest are about 20 pilot each.... I agree with you to be flexible but you should agree that changing a job and moving to another country it's not an easy step so i believe all the guys here a old enough and they have for sure though about it..... plus the will do it if they think it's good for them (as i do) because it's a very personal thing. Believe no one will listen to all critique (even exaggerating) you are giving to QR....
Happy landings
i never said he will start tomorrow, i just said he got a contract. Since you sound so good informed you should know that there are 2 classes every month... the latest are about 20 pilot each.... I agree with you to be flexible but you should agree that changing a job and moving to another country it's not an easy step so i believe all the guys here a old enough and they have for sure though about it..... plus the will do it if they think it's good for them (as i do) because it's a very personal thing. Believe no one will listen to all critique (even exaggerating) you are giving to QR....
Happy landings
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It is not only Disagreeable who write negative comments,it is other people as well. I am also wondering why these people are trying to paint such a negative picture about Qatar. I can accept that their intention is not bad,they might just want to give us a different point of view. But you made a very good point PilotofDoha,if they hate it so much why dont they move to other company? That would help us much more,there would be space for all of us 'swimmers' in the pool to join and start training.
I just dont understand why they make all that effort to blacken the image of the company,negative thinking does not help us at this stage.Ofcourse if that is their true opinion they have every right to say it,that is the purpose of existence of this forum anyway.
But certainly throwing bad comments about the country and the people in Qatar in general is out of topic. The subject of the forum is Qatar Airways and not Qatar. Criticising culture and people in general certainly does not help anyone and is very immature and childish to do so. Everyone as an individual adult person can judge for himself who is good or bad. I have spent a lot of time in various 'first' world countries ( in Australasia,Europe,USA ) and I was really amazed sometimes with the 'third' world way of thinking and behaviour of certain people in these countries. But I wont waste my time to go on a forum and start saying 'he is bad' or 'he is good' ,everyone can find out these things for themselves.
I just dont understand why they make all that effort to blacken the image of the company,negative thinking does not help us at this stage.Ofcourse if that is their true opinion they have every right to say it,that is the purpose of existence of this forum anyway.
But certainly throwing bad comments about the country and the people in Qatar in general is out of topic. The subject of the forum is Qatar Airways and not Qatar. Criticising culture and people in general certainly does not help anyone and is very immature and childish to do so. Everyone as an individual adult person can judge for himself who is good or bad. I have spent a lot of time in various 'first' world countries ( in Australasia,Europe,USA ) and I was really amazed sometimes with the 'third' world way of thinking and behaviour of certain people in these countries. But I wont waste my time to go on a forum and start saying 'he is bad' or 'he is good' ,everyone can find out these things for themselves.
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Ok, my two cents:
chrislikesblue; Jmodel; PilotofDoha and others:
what Disagreable is saying is correct in many ways. what he is not saying is he hates the country, thats what you interperate it to be!
Dont be foolish in your pride and ego and condem Disagreable for giving us a rather good insight into what is happening in QR!
I find it hard to believe you can spout out your judgement against all the info Disagreable and others have posted, that unfortunately YOU dont like because it does not help YOU. notice that word, YOU.
If you want to be a "swimmer", then fine, but stop posting ignorant posts about what you dont know, in a company you dont work for, and then put another poster down because you want work for a company and ignore every shed of evidence that suggests it may be different to what you think.
I must say, Disa's posts (and others) are concerning, and unfortunately correct. The place is frustrating beyond belief, especially for alot of people who are being given the run around, and that happens to ALOT of people!
The human rights issue is also very real problem; and i think it was meant to show you the type of issues that are glossed over here; bigger picture to me would state that its not an insult but a opening of your eyes to the ease of unfairness that can effect non-residents.....
I can confirm 90% of the posts, and if you want to play ignorant then thats your issue and no one else's.
I must say, even though it is a forum, and now (by mods admissions) possibly not an annonomous one now, then it takes guts to post something about a company that can get you sacked, your bank accounts frozen, thrown in jail at any time or held in the country! Dont take it for granted you "swimmers".
Thanks to the people that go out of their way to post real info, it is much appreciated!
better than reading "im still swimming for 13 months" now over and over again.
remember:
P: pool the facts
I: isolate the issue
L: look for a solutions
O: Operate the best solution
T: Take stock & repeat if not satisfactory result
best of luck
chrislikesblue; Jmodel; PilotofDoha and others:
what Disagreable is saying is correct in many ways. what he is not saying is he hates the country, thats what you interperate it to be!
Dont be foolish in your pride and ego and condem Disagreable for giving us a rather good insight into what is happening in QR!
I find it hard to believe you can spout out your judgement against all the info Disagreable and others have posted, that unfortunately YOU dont like because it does not help YOU. notice that word, YOU.
If you want to be a "swimmer", then fine, but stop posting ignorant posts about what you dont know, in a company you dont work for, and then put another poster down because you want work for a company and ignore every shed of evidence that suggests it may be different to what you think.
I must say, Disa's posts (and others) are concerning, and unfortunately correct. The place is frustrating beyond belief, especially for alot of people who are being given the run around, and that happens to ALOT of people!
The human rights issue is also very real problem; and i think it was meant to show you the type of issues that are glossed over here; bigger picture to me would state that its not an insult but a opening of your eyes to the ease of unfairness that can effect non-residents.....
I can confirm 90% of the posts, and if you want to play ignorant then thats your issue and no one else's.
I must say, even though it is a forum, and now (by mods admissions) possibly not an annonomous one now, then it takes guts to post something about a company that can get you sacked, your bank accounts frozen, thrown in jail at any time or held in the country! Dont take it for granted you "swimmers".
Thanks to the people that go out of their way to post real info, it is much appreciated!
better than reading "im still swimming for 13 months" now over and over again.
remember:
P: pool the facts
I: isolate the issue
L: look for a solutions
O: Operate the best solution
T: Take stock & repeat if not satisfactory result
best of luck
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@disagreeable, even though I am not a fan of a "if u dont like it leave it" approach, but rather "try to change it to the better", in your case I am not sure it can work. You do seem extremely unhappy at where you are, so sometimes the best solution is to make the change. You are suggesting that we find something else and leave QR as last resort, well I would suggest even more the same to you.
One of the points that you have made for exemple is that there is no possibility of unionising in Qatar. But anybody that has done a serious research about the country is of course well aware of this fact and has accepted these rules by signing the contract. So crying over it is misplaced. At the same time, I should add that this is a country in the making, and thats what makes it exciting in a way. Dont forget that a few decades ago, they where shooting into striking workers in some of the western countries. Anyway, all of my fridns that have started to work for QR do point to some of the problems, but they are overall happy with their lives in Doha.
@Jmodel, any clue as to why your friend got an end of november update while some of us (most of us?) didnt? Is it the initiative, or a job well done, of some assigned coordinators while for others its just too much of work to write a short mail? And what was his update about, another update coming or something more positive? Interviewed when? Thanks.
One of the points that you have made for exemple is that there is no possibility of unionising in Qatar. But anybody that has done a serious research about the country is of course well aware of this fact and has accepted these rules by signing the contract. So crying over it is misplaced. At the same time, I should add that this is a country in the making, and thats what makes it exciting in a way. Dont forget that a few decades ago, they where shooting into striking workers in some of the western countries. Anyway, all of my fridns that have started to work for QR do point to some of the problems, but they are overall happy with their lives in Doha.
@Jmodel, any clue as to why your friend got an end of november update while some of us (most of us?) didnt? Is it the initiative, or a job well done, of some assigned coordinators while for others its just too much of work to write a short mail? And what was his update about, another update coming or something more positive? Interviewed when? Thanks.
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Absolutely no better deal out there for the NTSO's except the QR one!
*If Disagreeable wants to help the guys waiting he could do it on the relevant point regarding the new contract for the SO. My best suggestion is to please those SO actually in Doha to come share their life experience with the new contract signed in the Second officer section and tell us if they are dieing or living decently.
*If Disagreeable wants to help the guys waiting he could do it on the relevant point regarding the new contract for the SO. My best suggestion is to please those SO actually in Doha to come share their life experience with the new contract signed in the Second officer section and tell us if they are dieing or living decently.
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Everybody has a right to give his/her opinion.
A friend of mine who joined as a none type-rated FO on the A320, around March... he is very happy there. He finished his linetraining, his family joined him. He says the the company isn't perfect, as there is no perfect company. He confirmed that there are things that could improve. The only thing he regrets is that he didn't join the company 3 years ago. So that is another side of the story.
There will always be 2 sides to a story. There will always be people who love it at QR, and the other ones. I think it is important to share the information/experience/facts neutrally. And it's up to the ones who are waiting to decide if the info is useful, or not...
I made up my mind, because joining QR (based on the information I have) as a FTSO will be a huge improvement in my career and also for my family. Maybe not in the beginning, but once linetraining is finished...
Cheers to you all!
See you all in Doha! Soon I hope.
cccc
A friend of mine who joined as a none type-rated FO on the A320, around March... he is very happy there. He finished his linetraining, his family joined him. He says the the company isn't perfect, as there is no perfect company. He confirmed that there are things that could improve. The only thing he regrets is that he didn't join the company 3 years ago. So that is another side of the story.
There will always be 2 sides to a story. There will always be people who love it at QR, and the other ones. I think it is important to share the information/experience/facts neutrally. And it's up to the ones who are waiting to decide if the info is useful, or not...
I made up my mind, because joining QR (based on the information I have) as a FTSO will be a huge improvement in my career and also for my family. Maybe not in the beginning, but once linetraining is finished...
Cheers to you all!
See you all in Doha! Soon I hope.
cccc
