Qatar Airways is a major international airline based on Doha, Qatar. It acts as a hub airline linking Europe to Asia and Australia. The airline operates a large fleet of single and wide body aircraft including the A330 and 777.

Prospects are good a Qatar Airways as a growing airline they regularly recruit new pilots, including European nationals. Qatar Airways recruit direct-entry captains as well as First and Second officers onto their payroll. Strict age limits apply with F/O applicants required to be below 50.

Prospective pilots do not need to be type rated as Qatar Airways will provide the necessary training. Although new pilots must sign at least a 3 year service bond to cover the cost of the type rating.

There are no cadet positions on offer at Qatar Airways. Instead prospective pilots should be experienced. Prospective Captains require 6000 hours with 2000 PIC, whereas a F/O would need 1000 hours under their belt.

Salaries are reasonable with Captains earning $9500 a month with F/Os receiving $6600 a month. All salaries are tax free although at Qatar Airways there are no increments, the salary you start on will remain unchanged.

As a Qatar Airways Pilot you will be based in Doha, Qatar. The company does offer accommodation as well as subsidised school fess, although there is no pension scheme.

Time to command is reported to be slow with 80% of pilots not achieving command with 5 years service. This as well as reports of high pilot fatigue and a poor lifestyle with the airline has resulted in a high staff turn over of first officers within the airline.

The roster system allows for a maximum of 3 days off. Pilots can receive up to 7 days off with the middle day on standby, which does not enable the pilot to travel within this period. Qatar Airways does provide pilots with 42 days annual leave.

Qatar Airways does enable pilots to fly to airports across 5 continents and does operate a modern fleet of aircraft. Qatar Airways can provide pilots with the experience of working in an international environment and the chance to live in the middle-east. Although like other middle-eastern airlines Qatar Airlines do tend to treat their pilots less well then their European counter-parts.