United Arab Emirates and Atlas Air Cargo Info

[skydrvr]

To all, outside of the websites, any additional info. on UAE and Atlas Air would be greatly appreciated. (No kids..I hope, Not married, nor do I intend to get married....so giving up a family life is no problem). Interview process, lifestyle, destinations, cost of living, where to reside, pilot group, pros vs cons, retirement packages...etc... whatever you have. Thank you.

 

[aeronautic1]

Atlas

You should ask N5375F.He just this week went to MIA for interview/Sim check. To preface: He said that all of the candidates were Part 121 with nothing less than 72 experience. Most all who are given class are going to the 200 and upgrade to the 400 when the aircraft come do for heavy maintenance.

 

[aeronautic1]

OOps

That's N5374F

 

[Uncle Sparky]

To all, outside of the websites, any additional info. on UAE and Atlas Air would be greatly appreciated. (No kids..I hope, Not married, nor do I intend to get married....so giving up a family life is no problem). Interview process, lifestyle, destinations, cost of living, where to reside, pilot group, pros vs cons, retirement packages...etc... whatever you have. Thank you.

I can't speak for Atlas or Emirates but I live and work in Kuwait and fly to Dubai quite a bit.
Single guy, living in the UAE.....think you died and gone to heaven!
Honestly, don't assume everything you see in the news to be representative of the entire Middle East. The weather is a little milder than here in Kuwait(120-125f during the summer here!), and the rules are lot more lax(mainly, alcohol is legal).
The first thing that everyone asks me is "What's it like living in one of those compounds?" You don't live in a compound, just a normal apartment or villa. As far as I know, that's only in Saudi Arabia.
As an example, I have the whole family here in a three bedroom apartment on the beach. The place has a gym, basketball court, two pools and a sauna, and is walled-in with full security and camera surveillance.
In the words of my boss, before I came over for the interview; "you really need to keep an open mind". I don't know about you, but I've traveled all over the world and this has to be the most unique place I have ever been to (both good and bad). If you "keep an open mind", it's not that much of an adjustment. I'll be honest, it's not for everyone.
I don't know what Atlas pays but when you factor in the taxes(or lack of) combined with a six-figure salary (very common around here) your paycheck can equate to $150-200,000+ US paycheck.

 

[Ailerongirl]

I know when I lived in Abu Dhabi as a kid, I loved it! We didn't live in a compound, it was a company owned apartment complex, so all our neighbours were my Dad's coworkers. We lived in a compound in Saudi though, and even though we were walled in, our front door faced the swimming pool.....what more could a kid ask for?!?! If I got the chance I would live in the U.A.E again in a heartbeat.

 

[Sir Humpalot]

I went to Dubai couple of years ago and although it seemed like a nice place to visit, i wouldnt want to live there. I found the people (non-arabs) very nice and polite. The place is not what you would imagine for a middle eastern country. The majority of the people are from india, pakistan, and asia who go there to look for jobs. There are many europeans also working there.

The one thing that dissappointed me was the way the arabs treated non-whites. I have always been for equal treatment regardless of race but when i was there talking to the people, the mentioned about the inequal treatment if you were a white expat worker or if you were non-white. I got into an argument with an arab at the local kfc who cutted in line ahead of me. He started saying that it was there country and could do as he pleased. I took his tray of food and threw it and he didnt like that too much and threatened to call the cops. It just seemed like as a citizen you have no rights there cuz the arabs can do as they please.

Other than that, i liked the place but the only reason i wouldnt live there is that it is too damn hot.

 

[psysicx]

Without starting a new post anybody live in Hong Kong?

 

[ForgedBlade]

All the Emirates guys I've talked too that live in Dubai love it. I'm going over in October to interview with EK and can't wait. From what I always here, it's very Westernized and not like the typical "middle-eastern" city that everyone typically associates it with. I'm sure I can pass on any specific Q's to some of the guys, or look up Typhoonpilot, he's at EK and always posting some good stuff.

 

[skydrvr]

Thanks to all that have replied and to those that will. Let the preping begin...again.

 

[typhoonpilot]

The interview gouge for Emirates is here: http://forums.flightinfo.com/showthread.php?t=57816&highlight=emirates

As for:

lifestyle, destinations, cost of living, where to reside, pilot group, pros vs cons, retirement packages...

Lets take those one at a time.

Lifestyle = Whatever you want I guess. You can go in many directions in Dubai. You could hang out at bars partying and drinking all night. You could spend you day on the golf course ( maybe not in the summer ). You could get into any number of sports or activites including SCUBA diving, 4 wheeling in the desert, mountain biking, kite surfing, etc.

Dubai life tends to be very social as most of your colleagues are expats as well and there is always a get together/party going on somewhere. Living in close proximity to them helps with that although there is a downside if you like your privacy.

Cost of Living = Expensive and getting more so. As a single guy you will do okay. Married with no kids tends to do okay as well. If/when you have kids in school it tends to get more expensive as the Emirates reimbursement for school falls short, especially for the American schools.

Emirates provides you accomodation and utilities. If you chose to go outside of what they provide they will give you an allowance which is enough to rent a two bedroom flat, but no bigger. Gas is cheap, cars are relatively cheap, food is moderately expensive, alcohol is very expensive, the list goes on very similar. Some things are cheaper than in the USA, others are more expensive.

Where to reside = If you want any kind of life, live in Dubai. People do semi-commute, but it is not encouraged nor is it easy. It just took me three days to get to Taiwan .


More to follow.


TP

 

[psysicx]

Is is hard to find girls if your single? Can you do better if your wife works? Don't they provide you housing. Is that only for pilots or does that include FA's?

 

[typhoonpilot]

Destinations = Over 80 cities in more than 40 countries. Most layovers are 24 hours with the occasional 48 or 72 hour slip.

Pilot Group = Mostly expatriate. The majority come from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, and Sweden. The UAE is a non-union country, unions are illegal. Read into that what you like. It's positive in that the company can take advantage of commercial oppotunities without pilot group support. It's negative in that they will take advantage of the pilot group with arbitrary changes to the working conditions.


Retirement package = Company Provident fund places an additional 12% of you basic salary into a choice of funds. You must contribute 5% minimum. Company contribution is 80% vested after 5 years and 100% vested after 7 years. For Americans there is no retirement medical care. Company provided passes based on years of service.

Pros versus Cons = This could be a long answer.

Pros = First class international passenger airline, profitable company, good training, good experience, expat lifestyle, tax free salary, not having to go through TSA security screening , relatively quick advancement, good golf for 8 months of the year.

Cons = Living overseas away from you friends and family, editorial section of local newspaper ( I've stopped reading it as it just pisses me off ), various annoyances living in a foreign country, hot summers, bad drivers ( and I'm not talking about Gillegans tee shots . I'm sure there are more.

Is is hard to find girls if your single? Can you do better if your wife works? Don't they provide you housing. Is that only for pilots or does that include FA's?

Lets take those one at a time.

Hard to find girls if you are single ? = For you, maybe .

Can you do better if your wife works ? = In what way ? Finding girls ? or financially ?

They do provide housing and it is for pilots and FAs.


TP