Pilots Exit
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Pilots Exit
Is it true that a helicopter company in Abu Dhabi has pilots running out the door? Is it true they treat pilots with no respect? Is it true that the Indians really run the company? Is it true the trainning department is gone? Is it true the chief pilot is something out of a bad movie? Is it true they do not pay the going rate? I wonder????
At least he was specific.....for a while there I figgered he was talking about any number of places.
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ADA?
Surely you can't be talking about ADA? One of the world's top employers, which has employed many of the world's helicopter pilots for periods as short as 3 months. With their industry leading pay and housing and caring, sharing management, who could ask for anything more? 
Join Date: Jul 2006
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Abu Dhabi Aviation
I am not sure how to respond to these posts, since a lot of the stuff written here is riddled with half truths and half lies. These are more dangerous than a real lie. So I am taking the time to clarify some of the questions asked in all fairness to ADA.
Fact- pilots who are competent are highly respected here by their peers. The nicest thing about working with ADA is that there are a wonderful bunch of pilots here, with the exception of a few. Nearly all of the pilots here are very competent- in this multifaceted job. The managers and coordinators know these pilots, and they are all treated with courtesy and respect by the Ops manager, the CP and the HCM. Even the local UAE pilots treat you well and they are courteous. Above the level of the Ops Manager, things may be different, I have never experienced any disrespect there and I have not heard any other person complain.
Fact- Indians are indeed running the place, and they are very efficient. Having worked in Africa where we had to do all the manifesting, my job here is very easy. So I have no complaints at all.
Fact- pilots WERE leaving in droves because ADA’ s upper management refused to address the increase of market wages globally. They were not leaving because of harassment by management, but because the pay elsewhere was much better. After the recent pay raise and daily allowance, the rate of leaving has dropped.
Fact- the training department was disbanded, and things were in a state of confusion for a while, but training is settling down and streamlined now.
Fact-The CP is in a straightjacket because he cannot get anything done, and because he keeps bumping his head against a wall when he wants something done. It makes him look incompetent, but if we are fair, with the prevailing Middle East culture, that is the way things are. The HCM is a very efficient and hardworking guy, and is well respected. Both the CP and the HCM have open door policies, and I have never been turned away. Some of us have been lied to, but with the changing daily situations, that is not surprising. Plans change on a daily basis.
Fiction:-I read another post which stated that the previous CP fired him because he reported that the lead pilot was overtorquing the machines. That is stuff from Grimm Fairy tales. ADA is very serious about overTQs. You have to screw up really big to be fired from ADA. There have been a few exceptions, one which sued ADA recently and won. But the issue of being fired because the lead pilot was a friend of the previous CP is ridiculous. The previous CP was and still is respected highly here, by those who know him.
That is my two cents.
Fact- pilots who are competent are highly respected here by their peers. The nicest thing about working with ADA is that there are a wonderful bunch of pilots here, with the exception of a few. Nearly all of the pilots here are very competent- in this multifaceted job. The managers and coordinators know these pilots, and they are all treated with courtesy and respect by the Ops manager, the CP and the HCM. Even the local UAE pilots treat you well and they are courteous. Above the level of the Ops Manager, things may be different, I have never experienced any disrespect there and I have not heard any other person complain.
Fact- Indians are indeed running the place, and they are very efficient. Having worked in Africa where we had to do all the manifesting, my job here is very easy. So I have no complaints at all.
Fact- pilots WERE leaving in droves because ADA’ s upper management refused to address the increase of market wages globally. They were not leaving because of harassment by management, but because the pay elsewhere was much better. After the recent pay raise and daily allowance, the rate of leaving has dropped.
Fact- the training department was disbanded, and things were in a state of confusion for a while, but training is settling down and streamlined now.
Fact-The CP is in a straightjacket because he cannot get anything done, and because he keeps bumping his head against a wall when he wants something done. It makes him look incompetent, but if we are fair, with the prevailing Middle East culture, that is the way things are. The HCM is a very efficient and hardworking guy, and is well respected. Both the CP and the HCM have open door policies, and I have never been turned away. Some of us have been lied to, but with the changing daily situations, that is not surprising. Plans change on a daily basis.
Fiction:-I read another post which stated that the previous CP fired him because he reported that the lead pilot was overtorquing the machines. That is stuff from Grimm Fairy tales. ADA is very serious about overTQs. You have to screw up really big to be fired from ADA. There have been a few exceptions, one which sued ADA recently and won. But the issue of being fired because the lead pilot was a friend of the previous CP is ridiculous. The previous CP was and still is respected highly here, by those who know him.
That is my two cents.
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Abu Dhabi Aviation
I owe you an apology, sir. I spoke with an old timer today and he remembers you and why you were fired. And you are correct. This was before my time, however and it was a time when they could fire anyone at will because they could. I think times have changed, and this has been precipitated by the shortage of pilots worldwide.
So I stand corrected. Please accept my apology.
So I stand corrected. Please accept my apology.
