flying in Dubai

[patriot]

Has anyone ever done any flying in United Arab Emirates? I have a job interview in Dubai and just was wondering what it is like their. If it is safe being an American. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

 

[JohnnyP]

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I havent experienced all of Dubai nor do I live there, but I have been going there on a fairly regualar basis lately, mainly just passing through, spending a night here and there.

The last time I was in the cab, I asked the driver about crime in Dubai. He told me it was next to nothing, says it is very safe.

The few times I have been out driving, I found the traffic to be a complete nightmare. When you get there, youll get the feeling that a lot of money is there. The whole place seems like one big construction sight, with high rise condos and office buildings dotting the horizon, under construction.

They have a few large, ok, enormous shopping malls. Ive been to the Mall of the Emirates a few times, its bigger than anything ive seen, even has an indoor ski slope in it. Lots of shops, youll find anything you want there, for what I thought were reasonable prices.

The airport is nice, at least terminal 1 is. Terminal 2 isnt as glamourous, usually caters to the flights headed out to some non-desirable locations.
Terminal 1 has a lot of duty free shopping in it, nice place.

And its warm there now, not as hot as it was a few months ago, the humidity made me stop in my tracks when I hit curbside.

I dont know if you already have a hotel, but Ive stayed in a place called the Traders. Nice place, reasonabley priced.

And the best part of the whole place, is that in the cabs, when it stops at a stop light or in traffic, the meter stops running, so it isnt terribly pricey to get around town.

Seems to be a fair number of expats there living, some ive talked to enjoy it a lot.

Ill be going there tomoroww again, no hotel, have to sit from evening'ish until 4am to catch the next flight. I think theres a place to get a shower for 10 bucks in the airport. We'll see. Good luck on your interview.

 

[typhoonpilot]

Has anyone ever done any flying in United Arab Emirates? I have a job interview in Dubai and just was wondering what it is like their. If it is safe being an American. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

I live in Dubai. Have been here for 4 years now. Johnny's post is pretty accurate. Traffic is bad and getting worse. The roads haven't kept up with the growth rate. The government tries, but those kind of projects take time. A light rail system should be in around 2009/2010. That may or may not help. That said, it's no worse than the LA Basin or SFO Bay area. You just have to know when to stay off the roads and time your trips to different places to avoid most of the traffic. As pilots we can do that most of the time. The poor sods who work 9 to 5 and commute in from Sharjah are the ones who suffer the most.

If your employment package is reasonable than it wouldn't be a bad place to live. The key will be housing. Housing is very expensive. Your employer must provide housing of a reasonable standard or give you an allowance than will cover decent rental flats/villas. To give you a gauge. A two bedroom flat in the Marina would be around Dirhams 120,000 per year. A small townhouse type villa in town would be around 150,000. You can find places for less, but you may not want to live in them. 1 USD = 3.67 Dirhams. PM me if you have any specific questions.

Typhoonpilot

 

[JohnnyP]

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If your feeling homesick, along the highway somewhere, is a Kenny Rogers Roster, believe it or not. And a Chilies is in the mall of the emirates, along with everything you would ever want.

Tyhpoonpilot check your PM's, if no PM my internet stopped working........

 

[patriot]

Dubai

Thanks for the responses. The company that I have been talking to is called Eastern Sky Jets. Just was wondering if anyone has heard of them or had any info on them. Thanks

 

[JohnnyP]

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I dont know anything about the operation, but do remember seeing their ad online for flight crews, think it said you had to be current on DC9. Are you current on the -9 Patriot?

 

[Gillegan]

I've never heard of Eastern Sky Jets so please bear in mind that I am speaking in generalities here. For any overseas job, but especially in the middle east, I would do a lot of research on any potential employer. In this part of the world, many employers take a rather casual approach to paying their employees regularly or even on the terms originally promised. While there are employment laws, they tend to favor the employer. A friend of mine in another industry was laid off and was told that he would not be receiving his end of term benefits as was required by law. He was then told that if he contested the company on the matter, that they would simply cancel his visa and would not provide him with a letter that would enable him to find other employment here. This was not a small company but rather one of the largest development companies in the world. While not all companies are like this, many are so it would behoove you to find out as much as possible about your potential employer. If they are unwilling to provide you with the answers that you require, look elsewhere.

 

[junkjockey]

Any leads on dubai jobs

I got around 1600 TT and about 200 hrs King Air 200 time. Also just passed my 135 type ride. Anybody know of any jobs out there?

 

[CaptainSpaz]

What did you get typed in?

 

[junkjockey]

It wasnt a Type, it was just a 135 checkride...i mispoke

 

[cruxx@9]

A question for you ex-pat's flying overseas....

How do the taxes work when working overseas? Do you have to be out of the country for 18 months? What if you only have a six month or 1 year contract with one of these places? Can you come back to the USA for a break and woiuld that count against your tax free time? If you don't stay gone long enough, when do you pay the tax man...when you get home or through your entire work over there? Where ever "over there" is.

 

[JohnnyP]

.....

The way I had it explained to me before I left, was that you have to be working out of the country for at least 330 days to get the first $80,000 (or 85?) federally tax free. About the vacation time counting against your days away, I dont believe it does, but im sure someone else has more experience with this situation and can correct me if I am incorrect.

 

[MrSuupaFly]

The way I had it explained to me before I left, was that you have to be working out of the country for at least 330 days to get the first $80,000 (or 85?) federally tax free. About the vacation time counting against your days away, I dont believe it does, but im sure someone else has more experience with this situation and can correct me if I am incorrect.

If you have a work visa then the 330 day requirement doesn't apply. As long as you have that status on Jan. 1.

That might be a big confusing, let me clarify:

You get your work visa Jan. 17. You have to stay out of the U.S. for 330 days for that calendar year in order to get the tax benifits. The next calendar year the previous statement doesn't apply. You can come back to the U.S. as much as you want.

In reference to the tax benifit, you don't pay Federal taxes on the first $84,000. If you make over $84,000 then you pay taxes on that amount. But you're taxed as if you've made $84,000. So if you make $100,000, you'd pay 28% (if you're single) on the additional $16,000.

Hope this helps.

 

[cruxx@9]

Thank y'all for clarifying.

I appreciate the help, keep 'em in the green.