Originally Posted by colofly72

Hi, Just wanna give my point of view, I've been 5+years down here and can say a few things:



1st regarding the money, yeah for sure is not bad, not that good either the basic is about 7 to 8k USD per month plus flight time and per diem your take home can be around 10 to 11k per month, now for this money you will fly around 100+ hours on the 777, that is a lot considering that you will get also some days off overseas, so at home barely 8 days if lucky, among these you will be very tired (politically correct term for fatigue most days) your wife and kids will not like that.



2nd benefits, qatar, ethihad and emirates pretty much all the same with small differences. What you really have to consider is that any of those gulf cities are very expensive, and yes you may find places to spend "less money" but remember you are not going to be in the US, we are here westerners, not always welcome by the middle eastern, so most likely your places of choice will be western=expensive. Housing is provided by the company but very basic so a lot of guys end up out of company provided housing, of course a villa yeah the one your wife likes will be way more expensive so you'll end up putting some extra from your pocket, maybe 1k USD extra, costs of living are much higher than europe, yes everything is imported, and if you want quality even higher. Schools, there are many international schools, of course very expensive starting from kindergarten at around 10 to 11k USD per school year and all the way up as the kids grow, plus all the extracurricular activities, and peripheral school expenses, being said that don't be surprise if you will put money from your pocket to the school.



3rd career progression varies, so far my understanding is qatar has a faster upgrade due to their growth, and attrition as well, same in emirates, the turn over rate is high, wonder why...., etihad is going through rough times for now so nothing there.



4th No unions, no law, you have no protection whatsoever if something happens whatever the case most likely you are fired, rosters are crazy the level of fatigue among the crews is really scary, again no protection.



I am not saying the US is better or China is better, just my humble opinion and things to think and consider before you decide to move and put your family in a golden cage.



safe flights

Originally Posted by SoFloFlyer

Purely out of curiosity, what would it take to get your A380 or 777 type added to your FAA certificate?

Also, can someone confirm that the only hours the FAA would count are the ones you fly as PIC? Are those PIC hours at EK only count as SIC time in the US? What if you have 1,000 hours of SIC in the 777 at EK and you came back to the US, what would the FAA and an airline company say about those hours?

Sorry for so many questions, but that’s been bothering me for a little while!

Originally Posted by sigler

My understanding is that US airlines will consider all the flight time you have at EK or any other foreign airline in terms of measuring your experience against other candidates and deciding whether to hire you or not. However they are not allowed to use that time towards the 1000 hours under 121 needed for an upgrade, which would only come up as an issue if your got hired by a regional.

Originally Posted by RJSAviator76

Believe me... the US is WAY better. You’ll make much more money even after paying taxes, the schedules aren’t nearly as fatiguing, and should you feel fatigued, you simply call in fatigued with no repercussions. Union protection, a contract that’s actually worth the paper it’s written on, the list goes on and on.

As someone who spent 8 years out there, my one and only regret is not applying at the airlines back home that much sooner.

Originally Posted by SoFloFlyer

Do goes in the ME get hired at the majors or do you do a stint at a LCC or ACMI before going to a major?

Originally Posted by SoFloFlyer

That would make sense. Thanks for the reply! Any thoughts on the type rating?

Originally Posted by captjns

A number of friends and colleagues who’ve I’ve flown with at various foreign carriers are employed with the Big 3 and other US major carriers.

Originally Posted by PowderFinger

Lol ... Snippy66 goes around to the various threads where he can beat on his chest about how great [he thinks] DAL is ....