Saudia
 

I have been here 15 months and on line since last October as 777 captain. I can answer your questions but warn you I am biased. I like it here. Worked in USA, Japan, India and China and this is by far the best. Family is in the states because the trading system is great here.

Days off
 

I disagree with Mutt. If you don't mind guaranteed salary you can trade you trips or give them away down to the guarantee, 78 hours. My sim partner manages 9 days each month in London by trip trades or giving up trips. Can be done until you get the taste of overtime in a paycheck. Then you will have your family meet you on RONs or move here.

Nice to see others giving opinions :):)

Considering that people use this site to form an opinion about the company, would you say that "some people managed to make the system work", or "Saudia is a commuting contract"?

Hope you are enjoying life on the 777 :)

I'm in ground position in Saudia and can't say much about the rosters etc. However I would like to give my 5 cents with some main observations:
Pilots are most unhappy and whining staff in ANY airline. No offence, just statistics - check statistics of strikes and involved staff in major airlines.
Life and work in Saudia, Jeddah, KSA, ME,... anywhere is what you make of it. "Some people managed to make the system work" - this is true. It doesn't mean it will fly LIKE you want, but if you are good, it will fly the DIRECTION you want. It takes some time until you understand that brain-pinions here are rotating in different direction than yours.
mutt makes excellent notes about particular details in SV as an insider. Everyone is free to evaluate everything what is said and decide if this matches his lifestyle and expectations. I don't know many expats who left Saudia at their own decision though, (only one guy due to family issues).

transfer to WB capt seat
 

Hi saudia guys, as I'm interested to join Saudia as a 320 Cpt soon, considering the fleet expansion expected, could you tell me, according to you, how much time I will have to wait in that position before accessing to Wide Body left seat ?
Thanks guys

It's either by seniority or by equipment phase out.
By seniority - minimum 16-17 years as of current situation.
By equipment phase out - never know. And you may just be transferred to another narrow body.
No good news:(

Presently they are hiring direct hire Captains and First Officers rather than moving FO's to larger equipment or upgrading them to Captains, admittedly they don't have an option as they need to increase the total number of flightcrew and they cant increase from cadet levels.

So bear in mind that there is no guarantee that even when your seniority number comes up, they may not move you!

Ok guys, that's understood..
Is that the same for A330 ?
I mean A320 crews don't fly A330 also in Saudia, as some carriers use to permit that?
The A320/ A330 upgrade course is pretty short and easy, in order make crews fly both aircrafts ...
But perhaps Saudia didn't make that choice for other reasons ?

@Corsair44. No 320 only for you. They don't mix them as other companies do. If you dont have WB experience as a captain do not expect 330 or 777. There are local captains with 8-10 years on the 320 so it wouldn't be fair for them. It makes sense

There are only about 100 A330 pilots and about 500 A320 pilots, as they are considered different categories they are on different pay scales. Bringing 500 pilots up to the higher pay scale defeats the economics of CCQ.

The funny thing is though; the A320 pilots make more money than anybody.

Pretty poor quality of life though on the 320.

@Alloha
Of course it makes sense ...
I didn't know there was several pay scales in Saudia...That explains many things...


@polax52
By the way , why do you describe the 320's pilots life style to be so poor ?

Easy answer... Sahara Hotel :)

@corsair 44. The difference in pay scale is relatively small and the 320 skippers make it up by flying 20-25 hours more than the 330 captains. It would be cheaper for the company to spread the plus 75 hours which are heavily paid to flight crews who average 65 h per month. Also A different type means a different office with additional managerial positions plus the fact that GACA is not so flexible to allow common type operations. 787 will be a different fleet as well and not a joined with the T7 unlikely other companies.

Hi,
could somebody indicate the process, after being hired, concerning Rating course, GACA ATP, until line training?
Thanks

Indoctrination class, Crm ,CBT FTD plus an extra week ground school .company oral b4 the Sim With Gaca and company check in the Sim and Gaca oral (usually after the sim .Sim 14 sessions). Line training (34 sectors for captains 21 for FOs). Captains have Gaca check in the aircraft along with Company check. FOs only company. No more Atpl. Thats it. 5 months if everything runs smoothly . If everything sticks to the program do not expect not even 4-5 days of leave. It happened to some classes.other classes had gaps of 12-15 days.

Hi,

One quick question regarding the assessment in Cairo. I've read about the Maths/Physics tests. However, in the invitation for the interview, it is never mentioned, as they only speak about basic aviation knowledges/and aptitude aviation.
Is this something new or everybody received the same thing ?

Thanks a lot ;)

Thank you Alloha.
And, do you know if 777 FDC fly on both, pax/cargo ? Or only one sector ?
It must be a quite different life.

They will fly both as the B777F is not yet fully operational.its only one and they have back logged order for another 3

This is kinda interesting.... anyone want to guess at who it is?