Free flight training

[scramjet]

I'll try for it, I guess. Probably won't amount to anything, but you never know.


Typhoon Pilot- What exactly is it like as an American living in the UAE? Is it more socially restrictive? How do the local residents treat you? What's the overall quality of life?
I don't live in a cave, I've heard what a shining economic star the UAE is in the Middle East and how many foreigners are going to work there, I'm just curious about the perspective of someone who lives there...

[OldTownPilot]

What would be the chances of being a Captain by the end of your 6 year commitment? Would they ever let a cadet upgrade? Kinda don't know much on the IACO ATP and frozen and not frozen and what that all means.

[OldTownPilot]

Originally Posted by Kristie

Please don't post that this is "free" training, it's not...you have to work for the company for oh so many years in order to "pay" the training off. we all know that and the JC public shouldn't have to deal with dishonest marketing like this. That's just bad form.

Also, you'd already started a post with this topic already, so i merged the two together for you.

Free stuff usually comes with a contract of sorts. Places in the states are paying for your CFI ratings of you instruct for them for a year. The flight training is free, certainly.

6 years doesn't qualify for "oh so many years" to me.

I'd be 30 with a killer expat job, free of any obligations to the company, free to do whatever i wanted to do. Sounds like an ok deal to me. I'm still trying to figure out what I really want to do, and this may be an option if selected.

[scramjet]

But what happens in the somewhat unlikely event that suddenly (due to economics, terrorism, or what have you) Ethiad no longer needs pilots and that it furthermore begins laying off pilots. What happens to you? Do you have to pay back the training if you haven't worked your commitment?

[OldTownPilot]

Cadet pilots are required to serve the company as a pilot or any other position determined by the Company in its sole discretion, for a minimum period of 72 months from the date of successfully completing the training and receiving frozen ATPL.

You get to push papers. Or maybe a galley cart.

[scramjet]

Better yet, can anybody point a Etihad pilot to this site to answer some questions or perhaps give me a point of contact (email etc)? I would like to hear a little more from the horse's mouth so to speak.

[pouya700]

How come when we try to apply it doesn't let us submit the application because in some areas that doesn't apply to the cadet program student when we leave them empty or put NA it doesn't let us complete application does anybody know why?

[typhoonpilot]

Originally Posted by scramjet

I'll try for it, I guess. Probably won't amount to anything, but you never know.


Typhoon Pilot- What exactly is it like as an American living in the UAE? Is it more socially restrictive? How do the local residents treat you? What's the overall quality of life?
I don't live in a cave, I've heard what a shining economic star the UAE is in the Middle East and how many foreigners are going to work there, I'm just curious about the perspective of someone who lives there...

Living in the UAE is not that different than living in the USA. The society is very much reliant on the automobile. The cities are layed out much like coastal California or Florida so they are very spread out and a car is necessary.

Islam is the religion so you'll hear the call to prayer 5 times per day and during Ramadan you can't eat in public view so as not to offend those who are fasting. Pretty reasonable rule if you think about it. If I were on a diet I wouldn't want to watch someone eat a chocolate cake in front of me .

The authorites are pretty tolerant because they want the tourist dollars from Europe and elsewhere. That said there are laws that forbid living with a member of the opposite sex unless you are married; of kissing in public; and a variety of others that are rarely enforced unless you've done something to get noticed in a negative way.

The locals only make up 20% of the population. Expats are the majority. There is a definite heirarchy in how people are treated. The arabs are on top followed by the white professionals then the professionals of nearby countries like Lebanon, India, Pakistan, Iran, etc followed by the hords of office workers from the Philippines, India, Pakistan, etc followed by the laborers.

Quality of life is pretty good. The are many world class sporting events, cultural programs, good beaches, good 4 wheeling in the desert, great restaurants and clubs. Schools are top notch.

There are certainly some negatives versus the USA. Bureacracy can be a bit annoying and the drving skills of people on the road are abismal. It is very hot 5 months of the year, but the other 7 are pretty good with 4 of those being perfect.

You can find lots of info on expat websites.


TP

[typhoonpilot]

Originally Posted by OldTownPilot

What would be the chances of being a Captain by the end of your 6 year commitment? Would they ever let a cadet upgrade? Kinda don't know much on the IACO ATP and frozen and not frozen and what that all means.

Upgrades at Etihad are running around the two to three year point right now. For a Cadet there would be a minimum hour requirement. At Emirates it is 6000 hours total time to upgrade, not sure what Etihad is. Cadets at Emirates upgrade at 8 to 10 years, but they would be quicker if they worked more. I would guess it's feasible to upgrade in 6 or so at Etihad if you flew around 900 hours per year.

The frozen ATPL means that you have done all the required writtens and practical exams, but haven't met the hour requirement.


TP

[OldTownPilot]

Thanks for all your help TyphoonPilot.

We will see what happens from here.

[DE727UPS]

"Kirstie, I'm sorry but I vehemently disagree with you. This website is meant as a forum to help people in the beginning of their aviation career"

I agree. JC has paying sponsers with more misleading marketing than that. Anybody who reads Typhoon knows he's an honest guy who's been in the "middle east aviation biz" for quite a while. He's nice enough to pass on some good info on an interesting program. Heck, it's better than free flight training cause they pay YOU. There is an 8 year catch, though. Seems like a fair deal to me.

Still not a fan of putting newbs into the right seat of an A320. But that's how they do it outside the US of A. Glad it's not my problem.

[Kristie]

well, don't get me wrong...the reason the information is still on the site is because it's good information otherwise we would have pulled it off already for the whole "free advertising" way things were worded etc ... but it's definitely more job related which is why it's in the jobs avail section and not in general topics.

my beef is only with the word "free". i've already read that there is a conctract, no matter what goes down, you will be working, doing anything, for the company for those 6-8 years...thereby, it's really *not* free. you are essentially indentured once you sign the dotted line. if something is free, there's nothing binding, no attachments, it's unconditional and that was my only problem - mainly just with the title of the thread. people buy into the word "free" with stars in their eyes and often don't look at the fine print associated...i want the JC members to understand and it looks like they do which is all fine by me!

it looks like a good valid opportunity to me too... if you're young and not yet attached, it might be a good way to go.

[DE727UPS]

Well Typhoon. Maybe you should change your title to get past the moderation and get this moved to the general section. This is a pretty big deal and I'd hate to see it limited in scope over something silly.

[BCTAv8r]

Originally Posted by pouya700

How come when we try to apply it doesn't let us submit the application because in some areas that doesn't apply to the cadet program student when we leave them empty or put NA it doesn't let us complete application does anybody know why?

The application seems to use the "Flight Crew" template so like you, there are many fields that I left blank. Somebody is going to have to give them a heads up otherwise nobody will be able to apply.

[OldTownPilot]

There are directions on the screen before filling out the app, on how to do it

[typhoonpilot]

Originally Posted by DE727UPS

Well Typhoon. Maybe you should change your title to get past the moderation and get this moved to the general section. This is a pretty big deal and I'd hate to see it limited in scope over something silly.

Thanks for the support DE. I titled the thread the way I did just to get it some attention. Perhaps there is another title that would work, but I doubted that "Cadet Program" in the title was going to draw much interest for the right viewers. I'm open for the title to change and the thread to be moved back to the General section, any suggestions?

I wouldn't doubt that this program is just the first of many in the region. The Government of Dubai is setting up a low cost airline in the next year or two and they will need pilots as well. The UAE locals can easily become multi-millionaires the way that business is run in the UAE so it is very difficult for the airlines to attract and keep the local pilots. EK have many leaving to pursue business interests. The quote from a 15 year local pilot when he left was , " it was costing me too much money to keep work for Emirates ".


TP

[scramjet]

Thank you for your answers, Typhoon Pilot.

[MJetR]

quote=pouya700;834573]How come when we try to apply it doesn't let us submit the application because in some areas that doesn't apply to the cadet program student when we leave them empty or put NA it doesn't let us complete application does anybody know why?[/quote]

I am having the same problem.

I can complete:

1. Contact information
2. Personal info
3. Language Skills
4. References (1 character and one business)

However the application instruction notes you must put a 'NA' or '0' for the following sections as most 'Cadets' do not have notable time.

1. Employment details
2. Current Licenses
3. Flying school

I can attach my up to date CV just fine.

Because you can't leave fields neither blank nor put 'NA' '0' you cannot click 'confirm'. This in turns makes your application 'incomplete'. And right on that page it says they will not look at incomplete applications (obviously).

So does anyone have any ideas on why, or how to get around this issue?

Thanks everyone!

-MjetR

[juxtapilot]

Is the flying any fun over there? Would cadets get any days off, to go back to the US or wherever for a weekend?

[ILS37R]

Alas, three months ago and I'd still be 26...

[rjmore]

I agree as I said in the other post, this is an outstanding opportunity for those that can get it. The fact that you have to work for the company for x number of years really isn't bad. Reminds me of another well known way to get your flight training that no one seems to have an issue with....the U.S. Military. Why is this so different and why wouldn't a company have the right to ask you to stick around after they trained you?

For any others interested, Cathay has opened the cadet program to Hong Kong residents. Previously it was only open to Hong Kong permanent residents. Residency in Hong Kong is not hard to establish so that may be another avenue for the eager guys. I'm also quite sure Cathay would like you to work here for a few years too.

Etihad seems to be a very good company and anyone who applied would be lucky to have a job there. I can only imagine how much easier it would have been to have ZERO flight training debt flying a widebody while my buddies were doing 5 leg days to Lubbock.

[srleslie]

Does anyone know about the color vision requirments for the ICAO? With the FAA I have passed an alternate color vision test but I didn't know if places like Etihad would accept this.

What about religious freedom over there? Are Christians allowed to be open about their faith and are there churches over there? That's something that would be very important to me if I were ever to move there.

[TexasFlyer]

Too bad I'm too old for an opportunity like this. I'd certainly do this!

Here are the two big items everyone needs to think about:

1) The bad: You may not feel like you are in debt personally, but you are owned by the company you are indebted too... just think of that. Until your commitment is up, you have no freedom of choice.

2) The good: You will most likely accelerate your career in both experience and financially far faster than any domestic US counterpart doing it a more traditional way (paying for school via loan then instructing and then regional airline over the same 6-8 year period of time).

So, you just have to decide if the good side out weighs the bad side. And to me, there is no wrong answer here. Just comes down to your personal situation.

[typhoonpilot]

Originally Posted by juxtapilot

Is the flying any fun over there? Would cadets get any days off, to go back to the US or wherever for a weekend?

Vacation time as an expat would be between 30 and 42 days per year. Not sure what Etihad's policy is. So yes, you will have time to go back to the USA. Etihad also serves Canada and the USA on regular flights. The time in training will most likely be pretty intense without much time off, but I'm sure there will be local holidays off.

What about religious freedom over there? Are Christians allowed to be open about their faith and are there churches over there? That's something that would be very important to me if I were ever to move there.

http://www.eccad.org/

http://www.standrewauh.org/

Does anyone know about the color vision requirments for the ICAO? With the FAA I have passed an alternate color vision test but I didn't know if places like Etihad would accept this.

The GCAA follows European regulations so the answer is most likely yes.



Typhoonpilot

[srleslie]

Typhoon,

Thanks for the links. That is pretty cool to know that about there being churches over there. That would be a relief to my extended family if I went over there. I would take a lot to convince them that UAE is vastly different from the other Arab countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia. I finish college in a year. I'll be 26. Maybe than I can take the plunge.