since i first learned of the maldives i had only heard good things. however in the last 2 weeks i've met two pilots who had mentioned to me that in fact the maldives were a HORRIBLE place to work. things like poor maintenance, dangerous flying, etc. now i'd just like to hear what others have to say because prior to listening to these 2 guys i had heard nothing bad at all.
thanks.
2T
The Maldives...good or bad?
Moderators: North Shore, sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako, lilfssister, I WAS Birddog
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Duke Elegant
- Rank 3
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- Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2004 10:23 am
- Location: Chilliwack BC
haha
Sitting next to a guy here at this internet cafe in GCM that flew for a certain company in the Maldives and he is very much like me and said he loved it! Had a great time:) If you get a chance with the above company dont be a fool....take it man.
Spent several months in Male in 1999. If your open to new experiences you will have fun, the people are great but timid. The CAA there is screwed and you have to watch your butt. Keep in mind if you are stationed on the island of Male it is strictly a Muslim state and do not get caught drunk, disorderly or preaching anything but Allah. Hipocritically the resorts including the airport island just a few miles away pretty much anything goes.
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rightseatwonder
- Rank 6
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- Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2004 7:21 am
- Location: M.78 FL410
maldives......the truth
Ok here it is....from somebody here right now....
to those who HAVE been here...it has changed.
I have been here 2.5 years. there are a tonne of goods...a tonne of bads...this is my personal opinion so take it as is.
heres my day today....
up at 4am...yes 4am (im up at 4 am 5 times a week)..this is after the 3:30 prayer call on the loud speakers that i have learned to sort of sleep through. No breakfast...(i have been overnighting for 4 days so there are no good groceries) call a taxi..and get to the dhoni (boat) at 4:55. Catch the company boat...10 minute ride to the airport island across 25 knots 2-3 meter seas. Then hop on the company bus to take us to the water base. 5 minutes. Get into work get the sched for the day (today is one of 3 slow days of the week as busy season is slowing downso i have only 4 flights-12 legs) ...busy days like sun-mon-tues..you can do upto 9 hours flying and 17-20 legs. This is my 6th day in a row (have to have 7th off) and for the past 6 months i have been doing upto 35 flying hours a week and 60 duty hours) those are the legal limits. Not bigtime flying but it last just about all year. I did over 900 hours in the 8 months i was in country last year. Plus its 40 degrees ++ in the plane...not bitching but tough here too.
Do the walk around and get the crew ready. Ooops..sched has changed..so figure out new fuel etc. This happens ALOT.
No weather office to call..guesstimate the weather at destination is "good" because i have no choice really. weather today is good. winds 30 kts thunder showers etc. from the west. here in male.. the lagoon is protected from swells so no problem. except the westbound take off gets you about 50 over the concrete breakwater and then the runway and then unlandable water...so pucker up.
take off at "max" weight and climbout...watch out for all the traffic that the tower forgets to pass you. Control here is a little scketchy at times.
Ok heres the maitenance bit...everybody hears that the maintenance is not so good or bad or worse...well the planes get worked to s&*T and its 35 degrees and heavy seas and nasty saltwater...its a bad place to be an engineer...lets put it that way...i wouldnt want their job.
get to destination...no boat in sight to pick up the passengers as we land at anchored platforms in a lagoon near the island. It is still blowing 25-35 kts and the seas are rough. it is open ocean and high tide and the lagoon offers some protection from the winds and swells but its gonna be rough...that time of year. Typically the weather is nasty from end of april to june...then 3 weeks in august...then november dec. Nasty meaning high winds rough seas and huge storms. Its a lot of work.
Wait 20 minutes for the boat..they bring too many people...argue with the guest relations officer (gro) and have to bumped them...the phone will start ringing in 3 minutes.
Mean while the platform is hamering away at the float i am holding the plane away from the dock with my feet, and the boat is inches away from the wing. And its still only 6:30 am!
stick with me the "good" parts are coming.
Anyways the flying is typical float flying just hotter saltier and with a big language/culture difference problem. Italian russian chinese speaking "english" to maldivians speaking "english". same problems everybody has but cartoonishly exagerated.
So the day is rough and hard work but ok...such is life. The good parts are these...when you do shut down on the resorts...its free food, and you get water at meals..and most have drink deals so we get staff prices. Great. You get to stay at resorts ill never afford to go to, and sometimes..you do get longer shutdowns and can go windsurfing etc.
But NOT in the busy season.(oct-may). We finish today in male at dark (18:00hrs) so thats 13.5 duty hours, 5.5 flying hours. My day off tomorrow but normally when you finally get your room at the resorts (captain gets his/her own copilots share with local cabin attendant) its 18:30 and you have to get up at 4:30 again so no drinks for you. The DCA sent memos to the resorts to let them know what the legal regs are regarding drinking alchohol and flying (12 hours bottle to throttle here boys) (on the subject of alchohol...you have to apply for a permit and can get 60 beers and 3 litres of spirits a month) Service at the resorts is variable between "as a guest" to "vermin" . Some resorts take out management diasagreements between them and the airline on the crew...that means shitty rooms, late check ins waiting for dinner for ever etc. but again it varies.
go to bed at 8:30 and do it again tomorrow.
thats a typical day...sometimes you get a shutdown at a resort in the middle of the day for 3-5 hours and get a rest...sometimes you dont stop once..and barely have time foe a coffee.
There are goods and bads...the flying can be easy (slow season good weather (feb-april and july to oct) and it can be nasty like now...the quality of life varies too...at TMA -one day off a week thats it but capts do 56 days in 28 days out cycle and copilots do 84 days-28 days...while at MAT you do 5 days on 2 days off a week but the tours in-country can be a lot longer. The living arangements vary too...company housing is not too bad anymore own room/bathroom and a/c bill payed for etc...
Pay is another very variable subject. The pay has substantially changed for some people here in the past 3 years or so. ANd its only gone down for most. AT TMA there is very little chance of getting down here as a copliot but they are going to be dying for captains next november...so ask for more money than what they offer.
Fun times at the one pub at the airport...good bunch of guys down here lots of canadians/aussies and some other guys from italy finland germany britain new zealand. The local pilots are in general good guys...ive never had a problem and the local people are something to get used to...but all the northern float guys know about that im sure.
I for one desparately need my time out when it comes...with one week to go everything is driving me crazy...the service and huge lackthereof...the way everything closes for 30 minutes every 3 hours for prayer...the distinct lack of things to do if you dont surf or dive...but if you do...then there are opportunities for that. with one day off a week im biased but i have no time for anything but work here. Its not "bush" but its close to it. "Tropo" some call it.
there are resorts nearby to get to but its not as easy as it once was..its become exspensive and they HATE pilots. We have been kicked out of all of them...as some point or another.
so if you are keen to come down here...as a captain..TMA is looking already for next season...as for copilots not a good chance here at TMA but borek has alot of guys coming through here.
P.m me if you need any info
hope this helps.
RSW
to those who HAVE been here...it has changed.
I have been here 2.5 years. there are a tonne of goods...a tonne of bads...this is my personal opinion so take it as is.
heres my day today....
up at 4am...yes 4am (im up at 4 am 5 times a week)..this is after the 3:30 prayer call on the loud speakers that i have learned to sort of sleep through. No breakfast...(i have been overnighting for 4 days so there are no good groceries) call a taxi..and get to the dhoni (boat) at 4:55. Catch the company boat...10 minute ride to the airport island across 25 knots 2-3 meter seas. Then hop on the company bus to take us to the water base. 5 minutes. Get into work get the sched for the day (today is one of 3 slow days of the week as busy season is slowing downso i have only 4 flights-12 legs) ...busy days like sun-mon-tues..you can do upto 9 hours flying and 17-20 legs. This is my 6th day in a row (have to have 7th off) and for the past 6 months i have been doing upto 35 flying hours a week and 60 duty hours) those are the legal limits. Not bigtime flying but it last just about all year. I did over 900 hours in the 8 months i was in country last year. Plus its 40 degrees ++ in the plane...not bitching but tough here too.
Do the walk around and get the crew ready. Ooops..sched has changed..so figure out new fuel etc. This happens ALOT.
No weather office to call..guesstimate the weather at destination is "good" because i have no choice really. weather today is good. winds 30 kts thunder showers etc. from the west. here in male.. the lagoon is protected from swells so no problem. except the westbound take off gets you about 50 over the concrete breakwater and then the runway and then unlandable water...so pucker up.
take off at "max" weight and climbout...watch out for all the traffic that the tower forgets to pass you. Control here is a little scketchy at times.
Ok heres the maitenance bit...everybody hears that the maintenance is not so good or bad or worse...well the planes get worked to s&*T and its 35 degrees and heavy seas and nasty saltwater...its a bad place to be an engineer...lets put it that way...i wouldnt want their job.
get to destination...no boat in sight to pick up the passengers as we land at anchored platforms in a lagoon near the island. It is still blowing 25-35 kts and the seas are rough. it is open ocean and high tide and the lagoon offers some protection from the winds and swells but its gonna be rough...that time of year. Typically the weather is nasty from end of april to june...then 3 weeks in august...then november dec. Nasty meaning high winds rough seas and huge storms. Its a lot of work.
Wait 20 minutes for the boat..they bring too many people...argue with the guest relations officer (gro) and have to bumped them...the phone will start ringing in 3 minutes.
Mean while the platform is hamering away at the float i am holding the plane away from the dock with my feet, and the boat is inches away from the wing. And its still only 6:30 am!
stick with me the "good" parts are coming.
Anyways the flying is typical float flying just hotter saltier and with a big language/culture difference problem. Italian russian chinese speaking "english" to maldivians speaking "english". same problems everybody has but cartoonishly exagerated.
So the day is rough and hard work but ok...such is life. The good parts are these...when you do shut down on the resorts...its free food, and you get water at meals..and most have drink deals so we get staff prices. Great. You get to stay at resorts ill never afford to go to, and sometimes..you do get longer shutdowns and can go windsurfing etc.
But NOT in the busy season.(oct-may). We finish today in male at dark (18:00hrs) so thats 13.5 duty hours, 5.5 flying hours. My day off tomorrow but normally when you finally get your room at the resorts (captain gets his/her own copilots share with local cabin attendant) its 18:30 and you have to get up at 4:30 again so no drinks for you. The DCA sent memos to the resorts to let them know what the legal regs are regarding drinking alchohol and flying (12 hours bottle to throttle here boys) (on the subject of alchohol...you have to apply for a permit and can get 60 beers and 3 litres of spirits a month) Service at the resorts is variable between "as a guest" to "vermin" . Some resorts take out management diasagreements between them and the airline on the crew...that means shitty rooms, late check ins waiting for dinner for ever etc. but again it varies.
go to bed at 8:30 and do it again tomorrow.
thats a typical day...sometimes you get a shutdown at a resort in the middle of the day for 3-5 hours and get a rest...sometimes you dont stop once..and barely have time foe a coffee.
There are goods and bads...the flying can be easy (slow season good weather (feb-april and july to oct) and it can be nasty like now...the quality of life varies too...at TMA -one day off a week thats it but capts do 56 days in 28 days out cycle and copilots do 84 days-28 days...while at MAT you do 5 days on 2 days off a week but the tours in-country can be a lot longer. The living arangements vary too...company housing is not too bad anymore own room/bathroom and a/c bill payed for etc...
Pay is another very variable subject. The pay has substantially changed for some people here in the past 3 years or so. ANd its only gone down for most. AT TMA there is very little chance of getting down here as a copliot but they are going to be dying for captains next november...so ask for more money than what they offer.
Fun times at the one pub at the airport...good bunch of guys down here lots of canadians/aussies and some other guys from italy finland germany britain new zealand. The local pilots are in general good guys...ive never had a problem and the local people are something to get used to...but all the northern float guys know about that im sure.
I for one desparately need my time out when it comes...with one week to go everything is driving me crazy...the service and huge lackthereof...the way everything closes for 30 minutes every 3 hours for prayer...the distinct lack of things to do if you dont surf or dive...but if you do...then there are opportunities for that. with one day off a week im biased but i have no time for anything but work here. Its not "bush" but its close to it. "Tropo" some call it.
there are resorts nearby to get to but its not as easy as it once was..its become exspensive and they HATE pilots. We have been kicked out of all of them...as some point or another.
so if you are keen to come down here...as a captain..TMA is looking already for next season...as for copilots not a good chance here at TMA but borek has alot of guys coming through here.
P.m me if you need any info
hope this helps.
RSW
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Panama Jack
- Rank 11
- Posts: 3263
- Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2004 8:10 am
- Location: Back here
Man that stuff sounds almost the same as Haiti, except for the float bit. Wheels instead of floats. Service, or lack there of takes forever, the country is a dump, there is no reliable weather service, the plan always changes, we always bump baggage for passengers, to the point where some people end up waiting until the next morning for baggage.
Traffic advisory down there is a joke, and ATC hinders quite a bit more than what the help. But I guess that is like any third world country, although I haven't been over to Africa yet. Maybe one day.
--Juggs
Traffic advisory down there is a joke, and ATC hinders quite a bit more than what the help. But I guess that is like any third world country, although I haven't been over to Africa yet. Maybe one day.
--Juggs
JUGGS-A waypoint in Idaho too!
Listen to the 'seasoned' pilot's on here. (I'm slightly undercooked)Duke Elegant wrote:Go see for yourself , son. Just go.
Life is too short, live adventurously. Why be just plain old vanilla.
Beats going to a dead end job like a company that kinda sounds like "East Jet".
TheDog
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Cat Driver
- Top Poster
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- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2004 8:31 pm
Yeh, the Duke is right on.
You only live once so you should try everything once.
At least they don't have to worry about some neandrethal firing a Sam seven up your ass like some parts of africa.
And you can at least say you have been there done that.............like the Duke and Cat.
You only live once so you should try everything once.
At least they don't have to worry about some neandrethal firing a Sam seven up your ass like some parts of africa.
And you can at least say you have been there done that.............like the Duke and Cat.
The hardest thing about flying is knowing when to say no
After over a half a century of flying no one ever died because of my decision not to fly.
After over a half a century of flying no one ever died because of my decision not to fly.
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Duke Elegant
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Aviation's Golden Boy
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lorenzamario
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