I believe onthego is referring to the work permit issued to expatriate pilots, working for Gulf Air in the UAE, not Bahrain; this does not affect GCC pilots. There isn't a problem moving from Gulf Air, Bahrain to another operator in the UAE, but from Gulf Air, Abu Dhabi, you will have difficulties.

If you decide to move on and your work permit is cancelled, Gulf Air has the option to give you a stamp in your passport that prevents you from taking up employment in the UAE for a minimum of 6 months. This, I believe, is an optional practice that Gulf Air can enforce. I could be wrong but I do not believe the Abu Dhabi authorities will enforce this unless requested by the employer. I believe this applies to all sectors of the work force in the UAE.

Additional information : I understand that Airline Pilots are exempt from this 6 month ban, the law apparently changes quite frequently, but if you signed a work permit with Commercial Pilot on it, you are probably not exempt, I could be wrong but I think the UAE labour law makes a distinct difference between the two!

and of course our GT UAE contracts just happen to have had commercial pilot on them. funny that.

666

toga boy get a life.if your an f/o with a family with gulf air your just above the bread line.oh how many expats did GA upgrade in the last 6 years ..........................?

I think GF is playing the scare game, but ask yourself this, does GF want to keep a pilot who does not want to fly for them? Dudai has plans for 15 million tourists by 2010...... good luck to GF management.

On a lighter note and slightly off topic.

Every time you turn up for work these days and park your car the First Officer seems to be getting out of his/her X5. Is this a company requirement? The car park has a whole line of them. All the Captains seem to have old bangers. I suppose it must be something to do with the X-wives!

NOC
 

It's true that GF will not give the required NOC to Gulf Traveller pilots. Why? Certainly because they are loosing too many guys these days

airwaya

Do we sense some jealousy here. if people have nice cars or bangers, it's got nothing to do with the company. each one has a different commitment. there are more important issues to discuss on this forum. get a life man;;;;;)

T O G A Boy,

Ah, sorry, my mistake, I thought the company were supplying these cars as part of a new FO employment incentive!
(I think you missed the point T O G A Boy: it’s called ‘humour’ ).
:hmm:

Toga Boy,

me thinks it is you who needs to get a life. Instead of single handedly protecting the image of GF. How can you sit there and say in your previous posts that because it is GT its not the same as GF. What bull. My contract says GF not GT, I was initially in Bahrain then moved whether I liked it or not. That moved cost me a serious amount of money to move the family, who were established in Bahrain. We were hired just weeks before the announcement of GT and not once was it mentioned in the interview. If so I may have made a different decision, as I did have other options open to me then. Numerous new pilots have complained about the whole truth not being forthcoming in the interviews. These guys asking questions about GF/GT on this forum need some answers to make an educated decision. When other people offer them you shoot them down. Their is always more than one side to a story.

It is definitely true that when we leave our passports a stamped and we cannot work in the UAE for 6 mths. This naturally affects you if you want to work for another company in the UAE. So if you are coming hoping to get in EK or Etihad by being here, beware. This is a major issue since we got moved here as I said whether we liked it or not and now we can only leave if we dont want to work for another company in the UAE. Thats a little unfair since this does not apply to Bahrain based pilots.Schooling is also a major issue, getting them into school and the expense. Especially on a FO's salary. With the pay rises we are alot closer to Emirates than we were. As for commands, there is no set career progression laid out for the 767. The airbus fleets are clearly defined. There are guys in the right seat on the 767 that have been there over 7 yrs. At present we are short so we are working hard. If you join on the 767 it is still uncertain were you will be based. If the rumours are true it could be Abu Dhabi, Bahrain or muscat. This uncertainty is very hard on families. If you end up in Bahrain the allowances are less.

There are good and bad points about GF/GT, as with any company.

Anyway that is my opinion.

666

It’s a shame that GF are going down this path, after all there are quite a number of us who would rather not change jobs again! Why not concentrate on improving things, (Eg: many policies are archaic and need revising, roster, etc), then maybe nobody would want to leave, gee, what an original concept!

I joined approximately 2 years ago and was one of the selected, who was forced to move to Abu Dhabi, I must add at great expense to myself. I gave up one-month salary last year for the move, not to mention the stress on my wife and children, so I think I and many in Abu Dhabi have contributed a whole lot more to JH recovery plan than many in Bahrain, many of who I believe were gloating at our “misfortune”! As it turns out, I much prefer living in the UAE and would certainly have to think long and hard before moving back. Once again it seems that the Abu Dhabi expatriate boys have received the short end of the stick!

As 666 pointed out, if you join the Abu Dhabi base, worse case, be prepared to be get moved. If you move here with your family, you might want to be cautious, unless your children like moving schools.

Sounds great, I got an invite for an interview in BAH for GF on June 6....
It seems that a good way not to worry about letters of no objection and people leaving is to pay them better and treat them better.
If that where the case we would not be having this discussion here..

Cheers.

It is now official, Gulf Air policy is not to issue any letters of No Objection to AUH pilots who wish to leave Gulf Air.
Thanks Gulf Air

X5's and X-wives
 

Brilliant, it even rhymes, and so true. Don't think GF F/O's any different from any other airline. F/O's always seem to have more up-market cars, than Capt's. Maybe because most are not married, or divorced. Need I say more?

GF/GT is not wonderful, but not that bad either. Leave for one is longer, flying allowances are pretty good, if not the best in the region. Hell, you can even sell your leave at a good rate. If you work hard, you can do well financially, so don't know what all the complaining is about. Are we our own worst enemies or not?

Tic,

I agree, there are a few pluses over other carriers in the region, but obviously that is only because we are based in Abu Dhabi, if they move you back to Bahrain you will take a large pay cut. The 767 fleet has major inadequacies when you start talking destinations. At the moment we do not have one nice destination, all horrendous places! We should receive a bad destination allowance! Joke.


I believe 4 colleagues (that I know of) have been hit with this 6 month ban when resigning, amazing… the GF contract says 3 months notice when resigning, so you do the right thing and work your notice, then GF turn around and stamp your passport with a 6 month ban in the UAE. How professional is that? 54 years in business and this is the road they take, quite embarrassing if you ask me. It certainly does not breed team spirit or loyalty. It’s a shame that a few in the HR department are allowed to degrade the GF name in such a manner.

HR depatment what is that?

So a few months back we in AUH are informed that because we are based in outstations that we are entitled to 75% of the actual cost of schools for our kids. Finally we said good on Gulf Air.
Apparently the policy depatment and HR changed its mind and we are no longer entitled to it.
And they wonder why pilots are not happy and want to leave. The only way they can stop you from leaving in AUH is by not issuing a letter of NOC.
Really makes me proud to work for such a company.

I thought the NOC letter only prevents you working in the UAE for 6 months. If you really want to leave there are plenty of jobs elsewhere.

I was chatting with some Bah bases cabin crew & it appears that now if they resign in Bah they will also have a 6 month ban on working here.Nice one JH, LM & MK.Way to boost the already bankrupt moral of the c/crew.
:yuk: :yuk: :yuk:

Vfenext,

That sounds promising, do you know of any that are tax free?

vfenext,
That sounds like the reply you get from Gulf Air when you request a NOC. Either you wrote that policy or you should be working there.