bird dog

Hello Ziva,

I was in your situation two and a half years ago. I think JB gave you a VERY summarised but realistic view of the money aspect. I believe there is another point to be consider before coming over, specially if you are going to sign a training bond and have over 4000 tt. There is NOT any perspective of increasing the fleet, age for retirement has just been increased and every now and then GF is recruiting temporary DECs that have theirs contracts renewed every year. Thus command will take a longer time than another airlines in the region. On the good side I find work atmosfere excellent and I enjoy the 52 leave days every year. I hope it helps and good luck whatever your decision is.

ziva

thank you very much for the info.... effectively, I have 5700h TT... but today i am looking for a stable position.... where i will be able to spend some time with my wife ans son... regarding the 52 days leave... I read somewhere that you don't get them... totally... is this right? 52 days means in fact not working for a 1month and 3 weeks... correct? not like 52 days of flying?
anyway with all of this infos... I am just waiting now for the interview to come along one day....
tell me birddog.... what kind of airplane you are flying? and do you enjoy the schedule? are you home often? if yes how often?
Thanks for your time and these valuable infos you gave me all of you guys ... really really appreciated...
Hope to meet you there during my interview... who knows...

Trader

Ziva, GF now makes you take your vacation in 2 blocks of 26 days. You bid yearly for those blocks. It may be possible to get those blocks back to back but with the way the bid system works that is virtually impossible. This poses the problem that run into - you only get ONE leave ticket to your home base if it is not of the GF system.

You are correct about the days off - you get 26 days in a row. The BIG issue here is that the way the leave bids work you can only start you leave on certain days (ie. 1st, 7th, 14th, 21st). So if you start your leave in the middle of the month GF can (and does) work you hard for the first half. They prorate the days off in this situation (so you get 4 days) but do NOT prorate the max hours you work before OT. At GF 75 hours is the OT threshold so, since they prorate days off, in this situation they should prorate the hours so that the threshold becomes 37.5 (half). They don't do this and you can expect to work much more and not get the OT credit.

Here is hoping this overhaul this system!!!

Sal-e

I realise that they will retire the B767 in the next couple of years. Could anyone tell me what happens to the 767 jockeys when that happens in terms of fleet transfer (if any), pay, contract, seniority etc. Obviously, you won't be made redundant if you still have a year of bond to pay of. (Surely not...gulp!)
Is there also any news on the .7 or .8 billion dollar fleet renewal plans? Has there been any changes to everyday operations as pilots go since the departure of JH?
Finally, can anyone convince me to leave before I start or the opposite?

ziva

thank you for the info... very interesting... in fact you have your time off but you are still working towards your 75h min... and if you can't make it you get paid less I guess? bbut hey no problem... where i am working now...( as slave... ) 19 days on... 11 days OFF , no vacations... NONE !!!! and if you do extra work.. you don't get paid extra ... if you don't do it ... you are fired.. sorry....!!! so imagine.... this is in europe with a corporate company... but hy no complains...just some facts... and no fiction !
thank you anyway...

UAXCAPT

Ziva, I am sorry I have not replied to you promptly.. In fact this is to whom ever wants to find out the truth about Gulf Air.

1. The company is not growing, there are talks to retire the B767 fleet with no replacement plan on the table...

2. GF is not doing very well compared to Emirates, Qatar & Etihad in fact they are loosing some ground.

3. As a NTR flight officer you are required to sign a contract (bond) for 3 years or $36,000 USD..
4. The package they have to offer is not that great, low salary, the housing allowance is not good ..Comparing the package to the cost of living I will have to agree with the others it is not much.

5. GF will offer you stability if that is all you are looking for.. They have the backing of the king. so know that they will never go under ..As long as there is Oil in the country GF will continue to fly..

6. Upgrade time is in the neighborhood of 8 to 9yrs t this tiem on the A320.
7. schedule sucks.... you are only guaranteed 7 or 8 days off a month.

please don't get me wrong there are some positive things but when you look at the overall it is not all that.. Also note that with your experience you can get someting much better..
I.E if you wait until you hit 6000 Hrs totl time and have 2000 hrs Pilot in command time on a jet w/ a MTOW of 20 t or greater you can qualify for a DEC position with companies such as Air Arabia or Qatar Airways on the A320.. They usualy ask for 500 hrs on type but the number of qualified pilot is in decline and soon you will see what we have not witnessed in a long time..

Good luck and feel free to ask any questions.

Dixons Cider

UAXCAPT

All correct and I agree, except for..The bond amount as a non type rated new joiner is a staggering $61,100 USD!!!!!!!!!

...and thats for a type rating done 'in house'!!!!!

RIDICULOUS is the word that comes to mind.

Sal-e

Oh well DC, i'm gonna have to suck it and see, at least for 3 years with the bond. If I don't like it, I'll leave with a type rating I didn't pay for.

Dixons Cider

Fair enough. Some on here have offered facts, as opposed to propoganda and rumour.

What you do with those facts are entirely up to you. Good luck.

FMC OVERHEAT

Hi Ppruners,
I will be going for ATPL theoritical training soon. Does airlines in the Gulf (EK,EY...) accept a CPL license with Theoritical ATPL with say 4000 hours total and 3700 hours Jet time (I know it has been the case for QR) ? Or shall someone wait to pass the training for left seat and have the full ATPL License ?
ATPL license cannot be issued unless you successfully complete the training for left seat.
From the EK website :
Requirements for Position of First Officer - A330/A340 and B777
* A minimum of 4000 hours total flying time.
* A minimum of 2000 hours multi-crew, multi-engined jet aircraft experience.
* ICAO ATPL.
* English language fluency (written and verbal comprehension).
* Experience commensurate with age.
* Type rated would be advantageous.
Thanks for your answers and happy landings,
FMC

Panama Jack

Yes. Has happened.

divinesoul

Hi

The NZ CAA AME at the QR medical centre doesnt do NZ Class 1 medical even though his name is on th NZ CAA website.His reasoning was due to the work load at the clinic he is not willing to do a class 1 assessment especially since i am not a QR employee. My next option is th UAE.But there i saw 3 AME in DXB all working in the emirates clinic.Would they oblige to do my class 1 medical even if i am not an emirates employee.I am asking this because i read in another post on pprune that they dont.So i just want to confirm it through the middle east forum.

This is frustrating why do they give preference to their respective airlines employees.It s*cks.

The NZ CAA should specifically mention that these AMEs are only available to do class 1 for their airline employees.


there are 2 more docs in abu dhabi.anybody know if they do NZ class 1 medicals.

I would give them a call but i just want to hear from you guys on pprune first.

Thanx

mahmoodnz

if u wanna do nz medical dont do it in the gulf its expensive come to newzealand and do its really cheap half the price of doing it in abudhabi and u r not in a rush of getting it before ur course starts

Ray Darr

Let me see if I get this straight... You suggest to: book time off work (assuming he is working...) / play / time away from the family, buy an airline ticket (he said he isn't an airline employee, so strike the ID90's, etc), travel umpteen-thousands of miles to Zee-Land, hotels, meals, etc, etc...so save a few clams on a cheaper medical?

divinesoul

Hey Ray Darr

Mahmood knows that i will be going to NZ for training so thats why he framed his reply like that.But I want to get my class 1 over and done with before i set foot on NZ shores.

hope that clears the confusion.


Cheers.

Ray Darr

OOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooohhhhh!!

At least that little part of life is clear now.

Before you go, you should shame-name the doctor(s) who list themselves as NZ Doc's yet slam their door in your face when you try legitimately to approach them for what they are advertizing they do. That's just plain rude and wrong of them!

Best of luck with your training.

divinesoul

hi

Well i called emirates clinic today and they also said no

The Lady at the general enquiry told me they must have been listed on the NZ CAA website by mistake and they dont do Class 1 medicals for non-emirates staff.

Mistake my a**.

and the other 2 medical examiners i was talking about well one's phone number is not working and the other phone number i think belongs to Abu Dhabi Police Medical Services.The lady telephone operator keeps forwarding the call to an extension where it rings but no one picks up the phone.

The Medical examiner's name is Dr M ahmed.The lady operator says there is no such Dr on their rolls.

Looks like doing my NZ class 1 medicals in the gulf is not going to happen.

I think this is just the beginning of many hurdles i have to overcome to get things done in aviation.

If anybody knows any NZ CAA approved medical examiner in the gulf region who does medical assessment for individuals please post it here for other people to know or just pm me.

Tahnx in advance.

skape-naaier

Hi there, in DXB Dr Akel on Beach Rd has been doing mine for yrs ( 043494880 ) didnt renew it this last yr but I presume he still does them and Aussie ones. Top Guy too.

divinesoul

Hey skape

I already called Dr Akel's clinic.the lady at the emirates clinic was kind enough to refer them to me.
i dont know how you have been renewing your licence because when i called Akel's clinic the sweet lady at the phone told me Dr Akel hasnt renewed his NZ medical examiner's licence for past 3 years.

If you think i am lying call up the number you posted and find out for yourself.

Oh boy i smell a rat in here

skape-naaier

Im sorry just checked the last one I had was for 2004-05 so think somone is telling a few mincies.