Pilot job situation in UAE/Dubai
#12
I was inline for coffee at CDG a few months ago and there was a very hot little asian pilot who flew for Emirates who I spoke with for a few minutes. Her english had a bit of an accent so not sure where she was from. She looked Thai and was about 35 years old.
#14
On Reserve
Joined APC: Jul 2011
Posts: 12
Agentessa, there are a number of female pilots that I know that currently work for EK, and I'm sure there are also at flydubai. I have a friend of mine who works there and I'll see if I can get any more insight on female pilots that work there.
#17
#18
New Hire
Joined APC: Mar 2012
Position: not flying
Posts: 3
I am trying to get back there myself. I am a female and acted as PIC on a business jet there for a Kuwaiti owner (with a blonde Canadian girlfriend, who looked stunningly like me!) He was actually very respectful of me and probably one of the most respectful owner/passengers I have ever flown. Life in Dubai is good since there are no taxes. I am trying to increase my credentials to meet Emirates' tonnage requirement. I would recommend getting in on the corporate side to get a flying job in Dubai. If you can get a Challenger type, there will be many doors open to you there. Very easy to get issued the proper licenses in Dubai if FAA/American. Good luck! I loved working there. It is hot as all get out in August and September and Ramadan sucks out loud, but other than the traffic, it is awesome!
#19
Just to clear up a few things about flydubai for those doing their due diligence....
Late paychecks: the UAE central bank had a glitch one month during the summer where those of us who use a different bank than flydubai could not get our salary on the day we usually would expect it. In the end the salary arrived 4 days late. Usually salary arrives on the 25th of every month for those that use NBD and the 26th or 27th for those who choose to bank elsewhere. Mine arrived on the 30th, the last day of the month. The only other problem is that February has 28 days and no one seems to think that putting the salary in a few days early might be a good idea. In Feb my salary still arrived on the 27th lol. Some things are like a brick wall.
Working ragged: my schedule varies every month. Usually published with 80 hours if no vacation. Yes there are some long days to places in Russia, Africa, and central Asia with duty days approaching 13 hours. However in that 13 hours you are getting close to 11 hours of block. If you prefer working like a regional pilot there are days with 4 legs and same amount of duty, however your block hours now are in the neighborhood of 5 hours. Currently only one overnight stop in Dhaka Bangladesh. I prefer the hotel in Dhaka to the hotel my former company used in Newark (Ramada). I never went out in Newark and i dont go out in Dhaka lol. To each his own. The amount of night duties gets the most grief. You can fly three nights in a row, and there is even a provision for 4 nights with enough rest inbetween one of the duties. It's not FAA rules, and the Europeans don't fly at night in Europe because of curfews and noise restrictions at many airports. Different world in the middle east with different rules, but that is why you see so much negativity about schedules on pprune. Just my opinion, but if you spread your 6 weeks of leave out and use your requested days off effectively you can have a schedule that would be better than most regional schedules and some mainline schedules under bk rules. At the end of the day it varies from month to month and there is no bidding except for vacation and two RDOs every month. Due diligence is all I can say.
War zones: flydubai operates to Afganistan, 4 places in total now. Syria service has been pared way back from 3 cities to just one, and even then the flight to Damscus isn't daily anymore because of security. Egypt service at one point was to 3 cities as well, but is now just to Alexandria on the north coast. The company business plan is fluid and it is scrambling to put airplanes where it can make a profit, hence why Afganistan service continues. Everyone has to put that in the decision making process for the job. Even with all the complaining on pprune, of the original pilots who started flydubai only 1 pilot has walked into the chief pilots office and said I won't fly to Afganistan ever again. If you accept the job now, you would be expected to fly there.
Again, do your homework before accepting the job.
Late paychecks: the UAE central bank had a glitch one month during the summer where those of us who use a different bank than flydubai could not get our salary on the day we usually would expect it. In the end the salary arrived 4 days late. Usually salary arrives on the 25th of every month for those that use NBD and the 26th or 27th for those who choose to bank elsewhere. Mine arrived on the 30th, the last day of the month. The only other problem is that February has 28 days and no one seems to think that putting the salary in a few days early might be a good idea. In Feb my salary still arrived on the 27th lol. Some things are like a brick wall.
Working ragged: my schedule varies every month. Usually published with 80 hours if no vacation. Yes there are some long days to places in Russia, Africa, and central Asia with duty days approaching 13 hours. However in that 13 hours you are getting close to 11 hours of block. If you prefer working like a regional pilot there are days with 4 legs and same amount of duty, however your block hours now are in the neighborhood of 5 hours. Currently only one overnight stop in Dhaka Bangladesh. I prefer the hotel in Dhaka to the hotel my former company used in Newark (Ramada). I never went out in Newark and i dont go out in Dhaka lol. To each his own. The amount of night duties gets the most grief. You can fly three nights in a row, and there is even a provision for 4 nights with enough rest inbetween one of the duties. It's not FAA rules, and the Europeans don't fly at night in Europe because of curfews and noise restrictions at many airports. Different world in the middle east with different rules, but that is why you see so much negativity about schedules on pprune. Just my opinion, but if you spread your 6 weeks of leave out and use your requested days off effectively you can have a schedule that would be better than most regional schedules and some mainline schedules under bk rules. At the end of the day it varies from month to month and there is no bidding except for vacation and two RDOs every month. Due diligence is all I can say.
War zones: flydubai operates to Afganistan, 4 places in total now. Syria service has been pared way back from 3 cities to just one, and even then the flight to Damscus isn't daily anymore because of security. Egypt service at one point was to 3 cities as well, but is now just to Alexandria on the north coast. The company business plan is fluid and it is scrambling to put airplanes where it can make a profit, hence why Afganistan service continues. Everyone has to put that in the decision making process for the job. Even with all the complaining on pprune, of the original pilots who started flydubai only 1 pilot has walked into the chief pilots office and said I won't fly to Afganistan ever again. If you accept the job now, you would be expected to fly there.
Again, do your homework before accepting the job.
#20
Line Holder
Joined APC: Sep 2011
Posts: 80
Sounds like you think you may upgrade on the rj. I'd say to definitely do it.......get the PIC type and as much time as you can until moving time....... 1000 if at all possible....even it means letting the husband go to Dubai alone to get the last 50 hours. Theres enough executive config rjs with enough pilot turnover to get a quick job over there id think Remember, it's not really corporate over there really in the rj world......more like charter operators. Perhaps they'd type you on Bizjet though......or you could pursue the airline world as well.
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