Etihad to hire up to 600 pilots in the next three years

[bmc]

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/etihad-a ... 71018.html

[complexintentions]

The amusing part will be to observe how many come from Emirates!

[bmc]

...and Gulf Air.

[ikarus]

Why is that?

I thought they pay pretty much the same cash at either of the two places?

Unless the upgrades will be coming faster at EY...

Complex, I read your comments on middle east and airlines over there, I believe you even have experience from over there? What's your take on going to work for EY or EK?

Cheers,

[rudder]

My understanding are that there are official/unofficial agreements regarding pilot poaching as it pertains to the Gulf carriers.

We will see if that practice continues. There are still many CDN pilots interested in a career in the sandbox and Etihad is a good first or second choice.

[bmc]

Last I heard, there were 300 Canadian pilots at Emirates alone.

Gulf Air is a bit of a circus. Plus, Bahrain is not the fastest growing base from which it can grow. At one time, Gulf Air was owned by the governments of Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. The mix of those countries gave lots of traffic for Gulf Air. As the member states developed their own airlines, they withdrew their ownership, leaving Bahrain as the sole owner (I think as I haven't paid attention over the past few years). Bahrain has a small population and since it concentrates on six freedom traffic, it must compete with the other gulf carriers, which is challenging for them. It will not grow like Emirates or Etihad, hence why I can see guys trying to switch. I could be wrong.

[777LR]

Any Etihad pilots here care to comment on schedule, lifestyle, pay and progression?
Thanks!

[GRK]

800…including a large number of Direct Entry Captains…777…787…380…320 and possibly some 747-800 freighters…about 120 pilots from Alitalia rumoured to be included in that number (part of the purchase deal made) The training department will certainly have their hands full with those numbers. The website details pay and allowances. It's not the greatest pay but not the worst. If an Emirates pilot actually left Dubai to live in Abu Dhabi, it would be a bit of a backward slide pay wise. Although the EK bunch work more hours and have a larger route network, EY is working hard to catch up. The new terminal will be a large part of EY's visibility in the region and will be a huge improvement for them considering what they have at the moment. I don't actually work for them, but know a decent number who really have no major complaints work wise. It's a long way from Canada, the region may not be for everyone. The route structure offers ULR around the world right alongside night turns to the "Stans" and the "Bads" as well as India and Africa. There is a seniority system of a sort, you can bid on a monthly roster and vacation and pass travel is based on date of hire and rank designates your upgrade to first or business. The Friends and Family pass travel system is popular and seems to work pretty well. Abu Dhabi is growing carefully (Unlike the cousins up the road who are moving much quicker) There is plenty to do outside of work…great boating, golf and the restaurant scene isn't bad. Schools are popping up as needed, and the weather ain't bad right now…Summer is a different worry…EK won't be hiring any DEC's and EY needs them…you can start as late as 62 there and can work until 65 at least. It's really a matter of what you think you might need to either finish a career or get one moving again. Your choice…school and housing is covered although might need to improve as prices are rising weekly it seems! It's a multi cultured company and growing steadily with the strong backing of the Abu Dhabi government.

[ikarus]

anyone has any info on Eithad's roster for say short range flying (A320s)??

How many days OFF guaranteed?
Average monthly BLOCK time?
Are there any grey, stby days?
How many days OFF can you get together in a row?
Can you merge those days off in a row with a next month? (say you get last 4 of Nov, and first 4 in Dec.)

Does A320 overnights often, or does it do mostly red eyes? I hear majority of departures out of AUH and DXB are evenings?

Thank you

[ikarus]

Did I mention that all comments about Etihad on PPrune are blocked and not allowed anymore??

I read the entire thread on Emirates rostering and schedules....not great at all, and I'm wondering if EY is in the same boat?

[cbty]

It is good for those matching their requirement. I guess 2.000 or 3.000 hours and previous experience

[HB777LW]

It's already been beaten to death on pprune, but a lot of North American pilot's are having issues with the EK medical. Regardless of many factors, if you have a waistline above 40" or a BMI above 30 EK won't hire you. So basically you folks who are hovering around 6' and 220+ lbs which isn't far off from the typical Canadian male these days. And once employed, if any medical registers above 30BMI or 40" waistline they put you on a highly restrictive nutrition plan and give you a time line to lose the weight or given the boot. If you happen to go past BMI 35 I believe you lose your medical since that's the UAE medical cut off. I'd highly suggest hitting the treadmill if you're looking to come over here and have a number above the aforementioned. Perhaps some body has more word on EY's medical. I think Gulf Air is still ok with heavy pilot's so if EY picks up a lot, you can give Gulf Air a shot. I have a different opinion about people jumping from EK to EY. With that 5 year bond at EK, I don't see how waiting another year or two until upgrade would deem feasible over going DEC at a different company right away. Mind you, it depends which fleet you're on. Colleague of mine started on the 330/340 fleet, went 380 fleet, and 10 years after DOH was upgraded 380 Captain. People within 5 years with EK would have a pretty steep pay out in order to go DEC elsewhere. Nonetheless, things are moving! Add Qatar's and Fly Dubai's hiring spree not to mention Air Canada's hiring spree the next 7 years (something like 1800 pilot's I heard) it will definitely be a wave and a half. I wonder how many of us expats decide to sell off and come home creating even more opportunities for those looking to relocate to the golden life style. Any thoughts complex?

[ikarus]

Thanks for the heads up on the medical examinations over there....didn't know about it.

As for pprune, yes, I did go on it, and read dozens of pages of comments from folks flying at Emirates, but not a SINGLE thread on Etihad. In fact, right on the top it says all comments on EY will be deleted and removed. All.

If someone has any tips from them, please share them here.

Thanks

[Eric Janson]

Disclaimer:- I don't work for Etihad. This info comes from someone who works on the A320 fleet.

How many days OFF guaranteed?

7/roster. That's what you get. Roster frequently has you arrive in the morning and leave again the same evening.

Average monthly BLOCK time?

75 hours +

Are there any grey, stby days?

Roster changes continually - even previously given off days are taken away. Very difficult to plan anything.

How many days OFF can you get together in a row?

2-3 seem to be the maximum. See above

Can you merge those days off in a row with a next month? (say you get last 4 of Nov, and first 4 in Dec.)

No. Very hard to get holidays as they are continually understaffed.

Does A320 overnights often, or does it do mostly red eyes? I hear majority of departures out of AUH and DXB are evenings?

Night turns to India. Lots of night flying (Inter Gulf). Best flights go to the locals. Layovers in India/Bangladesh. Not the greatest flying.

Completely different company if you are on the widebody fleet.

[HB777LW]

I would say the above post is very identical to what you can expect at most 737/320 outfits in the middle east. It's on the wide bodies where you find life style!

[avtutor]

How about opinions on the best options for a current 737 captain over in the sandpit? Not really interested in moving that far just to do more narrow body flying, but have been told it is best to try and make the move as a Captain as the upgrade process over there can have some pitfalls. Advice to me was to ' never give up the left seat!'

I would consider a DEC narrow body with a growth company but do not have Airbus time. Any thoughts on opportunities at QR or EY?

[HB777LW]

Hey avtutor,

You deserve to know how it works over here so that you can make a fair assessment. Whether you come in as a DEC or not won't be the reason for why you will have issues in obtaining a command job here in the Sandspit. Because if you don't have what it takes to be a commander, you won't pass your DEC course as much as you wouldn't pass your command assessment when the time comes for it as a SFO. The only difference is that you'd find out quicker I guess whether you have the command presence required or not to do the job over here. Here you get put through the burners, and have many hoops to jump through. It's unlike anything you have seen in Canada. Maybe you get a glimpse of it if you're an Air Canada driver but it honestly is something both worth experiencing, and is quite humbling. It's more than a 72 hour CRM course, some minimum upgrade training as per the CAR's and some cheap approach towards having you being in charge of a plane flying all over the world. It's a world within itself where no matter how much time you have flying as a 737 skipper between airports that start with C, K, M, or T ICAO codes, the true identity of your command skills shine through. Perhaps about the only good thing you'd bring forth from flying in the Canadian 737 environment is to have facts for not accepting Churchill as a suitable alternate during a Fire on a cold winter night or learning that fueling in MUVR is a shit show Seriously though, come here with the expectation to be humbled as a DEC, even open minded that you might not pass the course and get slotted as an F/O. If you're up for the challenge then I would honestly suggest the Qatar route. Especially the wide body program on the 787. Is it a 737NG or a B73B type rating that you have? As you see, if you have an NG type rating alongside 2000 hours on type as a commander, you can come to Qatar as a 787 Captain. http://careers.qatarairways.com/qatarai ... cyID=81354 Or if you want the A320 route, have 4000 hours of time flying a prop or jet with 2000 hours in command of something such as your 737 since that's above 40tonnes. http://careers.qatarairways.com/qatarai ... cyID=81235 Lots of opportunity here if you're up for it

Best of luck

[pelmet]

How many days OFF can you get together in a row?

2-3 seem to be the maximum. See above

That sucks. Two weeks per month is my minimum but three weeks is preferred after a longer time at work with a first class ticket home.

And 92 hours a month is not so great when crew rest time is not included.

[ikarus]

Thanks guys.

It really does sound like it sucks schedule wise over there. I've been talking to few guys over there and they all say 320 is the bottom of the food chain at EY. Flying the wide bodies is not so bad. Unfair scheduling practice, preferential awarding of flying, min rest...etc.

Doesn't sound too exciting...I'm sure there are positive points as well, other then monetary compensation?

[avtutor]

HB777, great post. Thanks for the response.