Being a Qatar Airways Crew

[septemberrr]

1 fine example: We were all made to do a basic blood test when we first got there and hers gave her Hep B (or A or something) results..

Hi qatarbabe,

Thank u so much for sharing your invaluable experience with us qatar airways-wannabes. Haha! In the above quoted text, you mean the hospital in Doha gave everyone their blood test results but gave that girl her Hep B results instead?

Or you meant she handed her HepB test results instead of the blood test results?

And one more question.. Hmm.. Have u ever thought tt u will not miss your family and friends that badly when you were leaving for Doha, yet when you are over there, you realized that u actually do miss them very very much? I somehow feel tt my friends and family r always so busy and it doesnt make a difference whether i am in sg or not.. (thats if i get in successfully la.. haaaa)

[qatarbabe]

The blood test we got was meant to test for various stuff.. And the doctor gave my friend someone's else's results. So, in the end, she was send home simply because of the simple mistake. They have been other cases where they were not that lucky to be accepted back despite the mix up.

I didn't think I would miss home. I was never that close to my family either. In fact, when I first got here, I didn't think too much about it either. But as time went by and when all my friends had different flight schedules (after we graduated), i began to feel it. It does suck when you're alone at home, or even worse, when you're really sick, so sick to even crawl to the doctors and your flatmates or friends aren't around to even check up on you.. thats when you miss your family and the fact that you know if you were back home, they'll be fussing over their little baby.

But, if you can go pass that stage, you'll be fine. You'll learn to harden yourself up against these things (it doesn't sound really nice, but it does make you a lot more independent)..

I was a pampered spoilt brat back home.. but I think now that i've lived on my own for awhile & in a foreign land, i've learnt a lot of things about myself and to how strong i can actually be.. and .. of course, i've learnt to really appreciate Singapore as well .. and I know that some day, i'll definitely come home.

[fly]

May i know when u guys submit the photo (full length)
is it the photo format: Hands placed by sides?

coz b4 i apply online, i went to studio to take my photo and my hands placed in front.

im not sure whether can use back that photo for my interview not.

[senzen]

Hi Qatarbabe!
Thanks alot for the advice. However, i think totally blew my final interview.
First, when i got there, i checked with the reception and he told me level 5. But i couldn't find the place on level 5 so i had to go dwn the reception and ask someone else instead. And when i got to level 6, the next girl after me was already there, which kind of makes it look like i'm REALLY late! And worse, i was sitting outside for another 5 mins waiting cos she told me it's better not to knock cos there is someone inside and so i waited. By the time one of the interviewer opened the door, i realised there was actually no one in there! They were waiting for me!! MY GOD!!! Is the girl sabotaging me or what?? And they didn't ask me that many questions in there. Not like those questions you'd stated.
I guess it's over for me. Sigh!

[qatarbabe]

Hi Senzen,

Maybe that girl was really being evil. Hmm.. Don't worry, I believe in Kharma.. so you know what I mean (hehehe)

In regards to your interview. Don't think too much about it. I always believe that there is a reason for everything. You may not get this now simply bcoz its not the right time for you. Who knows maybe you're not meant to suffer with us in QR but rather with SQ or emirates instead?

Never take it as a failure, but take it as a greater opportunity to try your hands with other airlines.. And if they all fail, sometimes its good to sit and re-evaluate ur options and see if flying is the best option for you. Who knows.. maybe you were meant for greater things no?

Don't fret now. Enjoy the rest of the week okie.

[maplesyrup]

Hi Senzen and Qatarbabe,

I just found this forum - anyways, I attended my final interview yesterday too! It was a pleasant experience for me, no kinks or anything in the process. However, I heard a couple horror stories before I went for interview so I was mortified! For instance: one girl was told to remove her stockings so they could check for leg scars... another girl was told to go conceal the mole on her face and take a new full-length shot before proceeding with the interview.

OH GOSH so much trouble!

But thankfully when I got in, the interviewers seemed to be in a good mood. We had a few laughs because I forgot to tick my gender in the contract And the Sri Lankan lady asked who did my makeup...so I said myself...and she said she liked it

I'm crossing my fingers for this!!

Senzen - don't be disheartened as yet, you never know what they're looking for exactly and IF this time doesn't work out, you know you can totally work it the next time... or next Sat when Emirates comes!

[maplesyrup]

Hey Qatarbabe!

I was going to pm you but it says I have too few posts to pm! Whatever that means

I wanted to ask you - how truly multi-national is Qatar airways? They said it consists of 77 nationalities, but would you mean giving me a brief breakdown of the major nationalities...? Was wondering if the company is as international as Emirates

[qatarbabe]

Hi MapleSyrup ..

Yes, we are multi - national .. BUT of course, we do have some dominant races .. Lets see...

1) Indians
2) Filipinos
3) Romanians
4) Russians
5) Turkish
6) Uzbeks
7) Chinese
8) Malaysians
9) Singaporeans
10) English
11) Italians (very few)
12) Egyptians
13) Lebanese
14) Moroccans
15) Iranian
16) Sri Lankans
17) South Africans
18) Mauritians
19) Maldivians
20) Koreans
21) Thai
22) Pakistani
23) Vietnamese
24) Burmese
25) Algerian
26) Japanese
27) Taiwanese
28) Hong Kongers
29) Kenyans
30) Brazilians

And alot more ... But you know, the best way to know .. Whereever we fly to, we will have try to have a few of their locals .. Mainly so that they can fly as language speakers (As Singaporeans, we can dream on.. coz to them, unless you speak Malay, you are not a language speaker)

Hope this clarifies your questions .. but .. mainly populated by Indians, Filipinos and Koreans..

[maplesyrup]

Qatarbabe,

Wow thanks for the breakdown

Ever since my final interview, I've heard horror stories from well-meaning friends... could u please help me verify their authenticity?

For instance: one girl was fired because in the crew bus back to accomodation, she was listening to her ipod. And apparently listening to music devices isn't allowed according to the grooming rules. True?

And as compared to Emirates, Qatar is known to be extremely strict.

Another rumor: Qatar is implementing a curfew soon on women crew... True?

I would have loved to PM-ed you my questions instead of posting them here... but I'm still not allowed to PM yet so if you prefer to PM me your answers you could. Or reply here... up to you!

[senzen]

I doubt i will go for any more cabin crew interviews if i don't get this qatar one. Perhaps i'm more suited for shenton way than up in the sky. Resign to fate then...

[qatarbabe]

Rumour 1: Part of Grooming Regulation is that NO HANDPHONE, NO SMOKING and NO MUSICAL DEVICES / CAMERAS to be on crew when in uniform.

Reasoning: Uniformity. And its professional. We are basically trying our utmost best to look good at all times in front of passengers or even passerbys. True, that the crew was on the crew bus at that time, BUT, cars passing by can usually look into the bus and see what the crew are doing. Same reason as to why our hats must be on at all times when in public.

Rumour 2: Yes, we are stricter than Emirates simply because we demand the very best from our crew.

Rumour 3: Curfew for both men & women are 10pm. It means NO VISITORS after 10pm into the building. If you guys are like next door neighbours, there isn't any restrictions. NEW CURFEW includes NOT LEAVING ACCOMODATION AFTER 10pm(see reason 2 below)

Reasons:
1) Some of the female cabin crew have complained of strange visitors from their neighbour's houses or have been harrassed before by their neighbour's visitors.
2) Crew have violated safety regulations by arriving home late and having to report to flight with minimum rest.. (they fall asleep on the jumpseat and have inflated sliderafts simply coz of exhaustion as their excuse). Because of these irresponsible crew, certain accommodations were targetted for checks based on rumours and reports. NOT all accommodations were affected. The curfew is normally lifted once the culprits have been caught. BOTTOM LINE is this: If you are endangering the lives of others, its something NO ONE, NO AIRLINE will tolerate. Its everyone's own responsibility to have sufficient rest b4 a flight.

I know I may sound harsh when I speak about the rules. I may not always agree with it, but it has a reason as to why it is there. If the current cabin crew continue to do stupid things, they will continue to enforce silly rules like this. It isn't the smartest thing to do, but its better to make a statement now, rather than simply slap the hands of the offender, coz it achieves nothing.

I myself am pissed off with the rules, but I am more pissed off at the crew who have caused US all these problems.

[maplesyrup]

Hi Qatarbabe,

I am incredibly alarmed by the new curfew (cant leave accomodation after 10). Has it already been put in place or just a rumour? The recruiters at the past Sat's open day told us we're free to go out as late as we'd like as long as there are no visitors past 10 at accomodation!

Also one very important question: does the new curfew also mean that if you're overseas you have to report back to hotel by 10pm?

Thanks.

[zombofi]

wow....those are some pretty strict regulations!

i wonder if SIA has such policies...

btw....its quite strange that in qatarbabe's list of nationalities....there are no middle easterns in the top 10....

i mean it is Qatar's national carrier and they are mainly populated by indians and filipinos and so on???

where are the qatarians? (if such a word exists)

[qatarbabe]

Hi.

Firstly, the curfew doesn't apply when you're on layover. The only rule is that you need to be a maximum of 3 hours away by dist / time from your hotel. Unfortunately for us, when we are on layovers, even though its a time off, we are still considered on "standby", which means if something happens and they need crew to operate, even though you just arrived, you still have to operate.

Secondly, the curfew is only in place when certain individuals who are living in that particular block have been basically reported by security for coming home pissed drunk or creating a scene in the middle of the night or for coming home at like 3am in the morning and reporting to work at 5am.. there are pple watching your every movement around here (whether you like it or not ) .. its for your safety mainly .. but sometimes, you do something which may not please the bosses and you get called in.

Thirdly, in regards to your question on the "Qatari's" .. by law, the women and / or the men aren't allowed to work in the service line. If they do wish to work, they need to be of a managerial position of higher. Also, in Doha, the population is small, and to make it worse, the amount of locals are even lesser. It is mainly populated by Expatriates like ourselves..

[zombofi]

oh my...that was a lot to digest.

thanks for the insight qatarbabe, it's really interesting to note the different practices.

and my bad on the qatarians...qataris it is