Not relevant ! It happened in Qatar and newbies should know what sh@t goes on there . Put your head in the sand ..The salient point was that there still has been no justice !! And major improvements , you forget the most recent mall fire ..??Fire ravages Doha's Mall of Asia shopping centre - ArabianBusiness.com .You are a joke ...maybe a recruiter or the management that BP refers to who is monitoring the site ...or just a kiss a$$ informant .

I came here as DEC wide-body three years ago. A lot of what is written here is true, some seems exaggerated. My wife and myself maintained a positive attitude here until eventually it was worn down by a process of slow abrasion, and it was not the job that led to this. But I will start with a bit about the job.

If you do an unstable approach, and go-around, nothing will happen. If you land from an unstable approach, both of you are in line for the sack. In my time here I have had no problems at all at work, and if you do what the company wants and keep your opinions to yourself, it's a pretty easy job. The aircraft are reliable, the roster is manageable, and the day to day operation of the airline runs smoothly.
The training has improved markedly in the time I have been here, but there's still a few trainers who think the best way to train is to prove to you how well they know the manuals and how much cleverer they are than you.
As long as you understand that management are not in the least interested in individuals, you won't be disappointed. The vast majority of pilots here came because their previous employer went bankrupt. The company has no problem getting applications, and until this changes, their attitude will remain one of thinking that they are doing you a favour by employing you. The recent reduction to a maximum consecutive amount of days-off from 8 to 4 has no practical purpose whatsoever. Read into that what you will.

However, I'll not go on about working conditions any more, as that has been well covered in previous posts. For my wife and myself, the main issue is not the airline, but the location. Unless you like malls and getting drunk in very expensive hotel bars or nightclubs, there is very little to do here outside your home. If you have a high-maintenance wife, she'll love it, as there is plenty of bling to spend your money on.....not much else though.

The temperature is over 40 degrees for 6 months of the year, so you spend the vast majority of your time air-conditioned. The summers are so hot that people end up losing their sun-tans from never going outside. Walking anywhere is almost impossible due to no sidewalks, heat and dangerous traffic. The air quality is very poor year round and the dust gets absolutely everywhere - beware if you're an asthma sufferer.
During Ramadan, which is currently mid-summer, you will be arrested if you are seen drinking water, eating or smoking outside your house or even in your car during the day, so most people (including the locals) stay indoors in daylight hours for 4 weeks. The migrant workers on the roads and construction sites however are expected to work all day with no food or water, often with the inevitable consequences. Two years ago during Ramadan a guy knocked on our door with severe dehydration, and if we hadn't brought him in and given him some water I am not sure he would have survived much longer. The traffic is horrendous, and the standard of driving among the worst I have ever encountered (I include India and the whole of Africa in this assessment). Over-taking can and will happen from any lane (or from off-road) at any time, with no indicators used, often while half-way round a roundabout. White Land-cruisers will drive an inch behind you flashing their lights at you to move over, regardless of whether there is anywhere to move over to. The driver will most likely be talking on his mobile phone and have a kid in his lap while doing this. Cars will leave the road, drive along the dirt to pass a line of cars, and force their way in front of you, while pretending not to notice you. If you have an accident involving a local, it is your fault.
You need an exit visa to leave the country, and forget about a second passport, as if that does not show an entry stamp and tourist visa it won't get you out of the country. The badly-paid migrant workers who make up the vast majority of the population have absolutely no rights. If they abscond from their employer (who holds their passport) for any reason whatsoever, they will go to jail. If their employer does not give them written permission to leave the country, they cannot leave. They have no redress to any organisation that protects their human rights.

I could go on, but for anyone thinking of moving here. especially with a family, there's a lot more to consider than just the job or the company. A vast amount of wives do not make it past one year before returning home, leaving hubby to try and commute as best as possible (which has just been made more difficult by reducing the max consecutive days off from 8 to 4). I'd estimate at least 50% of married pilots here longer than one year (and that's probably a conservative estimate) are now here on their own. I'm one of the lucky ones, but it's getting close to me joining that 50%.....time to move on. The education allowance does not cover two kids school fees here, and places are hard to come by, so if you're moving here with kids you need to start looking at schooling sooner rather than later. One captain who joined recently had to pay a years school fees up front before his joining date, and the company has refused to reimburse him as he paid before his date of commencement of employment. Kids tend to like it here until they reach about 14-15 yrs old, at which point they seem to suddenly turn to hating it.

For single folks, life here is much easier, and if you are young and like partying, restaurants, and malls (and are not particularly interested in saving money), it's probably not too bad.

Overall it's an extremely false existence in a materialistic world and any exonerating factors pall very quickly.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility. The 5 Taliban released in exchange for the American soldier recently are now living in Qatar, along with around twenty of their cohorts*BBC News - How Qatar came to host the Taliban*. As the national airline of Qatar is government owned, we now have the owners of a major international airline openly supporting a group who blow up airports. Pretty bizarre.