Air Algérie crew thinking about the Gulf after five years: what I would gain, what I would lose, and questions for people who made the jump
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#1 Algiers, five years at Air Algérie, and I have reached the point where I am seriously looking at Emirates and Qatar. I am posting because I want the honest version from people who left a national carrier for the Gulf, and because I think the national carrier perspective is missing from this forum.
What I have now
A permanent contract at the national carrier, a Mediterranean and Africa network with some Europe, a seniority that gets me decent rosters, a salary that is good for Algeria and small in euros, and my family twenty minutes away. I also have an aircraft fleet that is older than I would like, a service standard that is lower than I would like, and a career ceiling that I can see from where I stand.
What I think I would gain
Money in hard currency, obviously. A modern fleet and a proper service standard, which matters to me professionally. A global network. The training. And a CV that opens doors afterwards, which Air Algérie does not.
What I think I would lose
Seniority: I would start at the bottom at 33. My family proximity. The permanent contract for a renewable one. And, I suspect, some of the informality and warmth of a small national carrier where everyone knows everyone. I have read the accommodation rules threads and I am not 25.
My questions for people who made this move
- At 33 with five years, did the age or the experience count for more at the assessment? I have read they like experience and I have read they like young.
- Did your national carrier experience translate, or did you feel like you were starting from zero in training?
- The seniority reset: how bad did it feel at 30 plus?
- Did anyone go and come back? If so, why?
- For Arabic speakers from North Africa: is there a community, or is the crew community mostly South Asian and European?
I would rather hear the difficult version. I have had enough of the Instagram one.
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#2 Moroccan, Royal Air Maroc for four years before Qatar, joined at 31. Your list is exactly right. The experience counted at the assessment, the recruiter spent half my interview on RAM situations. The training felt like starting from zero for SEP because the aircraft and the procedures were new, and like an easy refresher for service. The seniority reset at 31 was a wound for six months and then it healed. There is a big North African community in Doha and it will find you within a week.
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#3 Tunisair, and I am at the same decision, so following. The permanent contract for a renewable one is the part my father will not stop talking about.
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#4 Tunis to Doha, four years now. I did it at 27 so the age question is different, but on your point five: yes, there is a community, and the Arabic on the aircraft is an asset on every Middle East and North Africa route. On point four: I know two who went back, both for family reasons, both say the Gulf years were the best of their career professionally and they went back for reasons that had nothing to do with the job.
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#5 @laylafree that is the answer I needed on point four. Professionally the best years, personally a choice. That I can work with.
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#6 Casablanca, joined Qatar at 29 after three years at RAM. The thing nobody told me: the service standard jump is bigger than the SEP jump. I thought I was a good crew member at RAM. The Qatar business course taught me I had been a good crew member at RAM. Different thing. Worth it.
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#7 Egyptian, ex EgyptAir, now at a Gulf carrier, joined at 34. The age was not a problem at the assessment. The experience was the reason I got through. The seniority reset was the reason I nearly did not go. Two years later I have promoted faster than I would have at home because the operation is bigger and moves. Go.
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#8 EgyptAir, staying, and I want to give the other answer for balance. I did the Emirates assessment, got through, and turned it down at 35 because my parents are old and the seniority I have here gets me home every night. It was the right choice for me and I still think about it every time the salary thread updates. Both choices are honest.