I was flying DC-9s in Africa, which are, in general, lower paying jobs than the 737. The more or less Chief Pilot was making $9.5, and then we moved and he was making almost $11. There were 2 other Capts that I know and they were making $8.5 and $9. This was for an ACMI jobs. Usually, the corporate and/or pax charter guys make a lot more. I personally think that $15K would be about the min for a 737/BBJ job.

The 3/1 schedule is not good. I was on a worse schedule, but I didn't have any recall rights. U could ask if they would do 6 wks/2 wks....and they should pay for the commute in business class or better. The other option would be to move there. My buddy lives in Jedda, and that is supposed to be the best in Saudi...don't know where you would be based. If you live there, they should pay for housing, car, medical for the family, school for the kids, etc.

God Bless and Namaste

 

At $9000/month in Saudi...

3 months on/1 month off.... Bwaaahahahahahahahhahah

2 months on/1 month off.... "No, thank you."

1 month on/1 month off.... "I'll consider it... " and keep looking.

At $18,000/month in Saudi...

3 months on/1 month off.... Bwaaahahahahahahahahah

2 months on/1 month off.... "Anything else available?"

1 month on/1 month off.... "OK, let's talk."

 

Just so I am clear...

You are asking me if I am "afraid, insecure or just incompetent" because I would walk away from a job flying an aircraft I've never flown, with minimal training, in airspace I've never had experience with, no line training, and potentially F/Os who are no help? (Not to mention this was answered from the perspective of someone who has never flown out of the US).

Is that about right?

I call that smart and safe. You can call it whatever you like. Go troll elsewhere instead of trying to belittle other's decision making process. Try contributing to a thread...

 

Exactly! for $9000/month it should be 1 month on/3 months off

 

Moving to Saudi is so not an option. I have a family (young kids) and we are involved in our community and have no desire to leave. I would quit this industry if I had to move out of the country. The only job I would even consider moving for would be a Legacy airline.
The owner is firm on the 3 month on/1 month off skd. They do pay for the commute but it is in coach. I live in the middle of the US, so I'm looking at a 2 to 3 leg commute depending on how they travel me. They do have separate apartments for the crews that are supposed to be nice

 

You realize that 3 months on/1 month off is basically moving to Saudi, right?

Bear in mind that most of your ME gigs typically offer 42 days of leave per year on full-time contracts. That's 6 weeks. Now, I don't know about Saudi, but I can tell you in other Gulf countries, they're required to give you an average of 8 days off per month. Let's do some math here:

3 months on/1 month off = 3 on/off periods = 9 months on/3 months off. 3 months off = roughly 90 days off per year.

Let's look at a true full-time contract:

12 month x 8 days required off = 96 days + 42 days of leave = 138 days off.

So... what a number of operators have done was offer 2 months on/1 month off, so they get their maximum use out of you and still get away with robbing you of roughly 3 weeks. Plus it's far cheaper for them to offer rotation than pay housing allowances in a skyrocketing market. But that's not the end of it... with full-time contract, there is another issue with getting your family over and expenses of that which fall on your employer.... which they conveniently get to skip by offering "rotation." They don't do it because they're nice people. They do it because they see you as ignorant, naive pilot willing to sell your family to fly their plane.

That's why when I see 3 months on/1 month off, I start laughing at them... at the offered pay rate, that's probably "rolling on the floor" laughing. What all this tells me is that the owner or the management company are low-rent and cheapskates. My question is where else are they skipping? Are they paying their fuel/handling bills? Middle East is full of operators who skip out on paying their bills. Not to say there aren't good operators in the region, but there is also a lot of trash... and given what you're describing, it sounds like you're dealing with trash.

Good luck!