I wish all of that wasn't true :/

I was hopping that I would work as a cabin attendant one day, I read about every company's salaries and requirements, I found out that Qatar airways are the best to apply for, and after I read all of that, I started to hate it, the problem is that a lot of people share the same opinions here which makes me believe that what's written here is true and convincing.

Well... I guess I will just start thinking of applying for my country's airline, which is Kuwait airlines, and I hope it's not as bad as Qatar airline...

Thanks so much for all of these information, original poster.

Well I've not heard very good things about KU either. The airline is no interest in expansion and growth and the cabins of their planes are very outdated. They might pay well but then again I'm just guessing. Your best choice is either Emirates, Etihad or Oman Air.

Thank you so much for showing the world what really happen to the QR crew! Its shocking some people still wanna join the "Slavery Airways", im an ex Qatar Airways crew, I worked there for 2 and half years and even working in Business and First Class I prefered to resign and join Etihad, so I can have personal life, which is impossible in Dohell.

can we join etihad while still working at qatar airways ? They say you have to wait 1 year after you resign from qatar to apply emirates. Is there such a thing for etihad also ?

Hi there!
Yes, unfortunately if you have worked for QR , you have to wait 1 year to apply for Emirates. I dont know the reason for that, the only thing I can think of is that they wanna f**k the crew even after they leave the company.
But in case of Etihad yes, you can apply even if you are still working for QR. Hundreds of crew are leaving Qatar Airways and joining Etihad, so they can have a normal life, go out whenever they want, sleep wherever they want with whoever they want, without being watched 24-7 and without the fear of being fired for any stupid reason.
If I could give you and advice I would say: Dont join Qatar Airways. Emirates is a better airline to start your career, they dont have all that bullshit you can see on the first post of this discussion. They also pay better than QR and allow you to have a personal life. Also Dubai is sooooooooooo much better than Doha, you just cannot compare both cities! There are so many places to visit and they are also more open minded than in Dohell.
Most of the Emirates crew dont have previous experience. In case of Etihad they prefer people with at least 2 years experience in costumer service.
You can apply online for Etihad, they use to reply in about 1 week. In my case I was still working for QR when I applied and in 5 days they replied me with an invitation to assessment! Good luck!

Thanks for the info.I tried Emirates 2 months ago but rejected after FI. It was my first time but I can't wait 1 year to re-apply. It is a long time and I need money. I also applied Ethiad but they did not reply so I guess my customer service experience is not enough right now. I may also try Etihad again while working at qatar but you say among these tree Emirates is the best in every aspect ? I heard Etihad pays more than Emirates but I dont know whether Dubai or Abu Dhabi is better to live. Btw,Where are you from ?

I just got through Qatar airways but after reading the posts I think It will be foolish to join such kind of a company.... "Monitoring" your personal life co'mon that ridiculous ...as far as the work is done good in flights and pax are happy wt else is needed...

My boyfriend has worked with Qatar for an year ...he came back.
He use to tell me stories how crew absconded when was doing a layover in their home country...funny though...

I gave my interview for EK at the same time but unfortunately couldn't make it after finals got a regret mail...

but I am serprise that EK people wrote that they want me to re-apply after six months rather then One year standard wait period.
wt does this mean????????????
I have declined my offer for Qatar and waiting for my six months to get over so that I can apply for Emirates.

Thank you soooo much Al Baker (but not the real one ;) for putting this out there for all those who have suffered or wish to suffer joining Qatar Airways. I was there in 2009 and can 100% clarify everything you wrote is true...however you missed out on mentioning the "spies" they use and also that awful "reporting" system which means crew get brownie points for ratting on other crew!
It is a truely horrible environment to work in..and i am living testament to how far that screwed up piece of evil (the CEO) will go.
Never in my life have i come face to face with someone so satanic and cold. I think he truely deserves to be locked up for all he has done.
The truth is Qatar Airways will always be this bad until he leaves. Unfortunately as you mentioned there are no proper laws in Qatar with which to oust him. He is also well in with the ruling family "Al Thani" et al. so theres little hope he will be removed from his position unless he falls foul of them.
I would say to anyone thinking they still want to join qatar airways, two things:
1) never think it wont happen to you
2) never underestimate this crazy guy or what he is capable of
It really is a life lived in fear, and i had never experienced anything like it until i went there....

As a journalist, I have known about Qatar and the way they treat their staff having been contacted by a Qatar flight attendant while working at the BBC last year. It's such a shame because they have everything they need to be an Emirates or Etihad, but are causing their own downfall. In a nutshell:

1) There will come a time when they struggle to recruit from western countries. Word gets around and people soon realize that the negatives outweigh the positives. But maybe that's what they need to see before they start making changes.

2) I agree with some people who say that as long as you do your job, you should be fine. But its also clear that little mistakes could lose you that job. That's not a life to lead. Theres too much snitching and watching your back at Qatar. People who are relaxed and well taken care of by a company will always produce the best results. It's too much pressure 'hoping to not get fired everyday' <-- the words of current and former cabin crew. Not mine.

3) People don't realize how rare no-poaching clauses are in normal business. I was used to them in journalism because an influential tv personanility being hired by 'the competition' could have the power to take viewers away from the company he/she left. The vast majority of non-compete clauses are applied in situations where there is a potential for an employee to give the competition an advantage. No disrespect to Qatar, but what do Emirates have to learn from them? Furthermore, cabin crew hop from airline to airline all the time. Between the way things are done, different fleets, different countries, different ways in which they operate, I can't imagine a flight attendant or two would make a sensational impact.Their reasons for applying this clause are pretty transparent.

4) Rarely do you hear of people leaving EK for QR, and when they do, its never in droves.

Personally, Qatar was in my top 5 airlines to work for. But having spoken to so many people, im sad to say the people saying good things are outnumbered by the people saying bad things. And thats the shame.

We want to work for middle eastern airlines. We want to live in Doha. We want to wear the uniform and are happy to play by their rules. But we simply ask that we not be slaves.

Personally, Emirates is the dream, and had it not been for the Clause, I would have been willing to give Qatar a shot and applied. But when you look at all the negative things being said by current and former staff, and the way they treat their staff, plus the fact that ill have to wait a year to apply to emirates if i decide to leave them, suddenly its not worth it.

A lot of businesses have the potential to be something great but often bad management decisions are what holds them back. I feel Qatar could be one of those businesses. Furthermore, I believe they look at their employee turnover rates and they know they are messing up, but don't lose sleep over it because there is an influx of eager, bright eyed young men and women the world over who are ready to come on board and put up with anything - particularly those from developing countries.

I just think its a damn shame. I too have worked for a company that treated us well at first, and then turned into Qatar. I went back to visit last year and the personality of the place is gone. There's no sense of family there any more and everyone just comes in, does their thing and goes home. Sure work gets done, but the joy has been sucked out of the place. The company is still a fantastic fortune 500 company on the outside and was even listed in Fortunes 100 best companies to work. Like Qatar, they recieve their fair share of awards and praise. If only people knew.

Cheercoach

which company is this you are referring to? is it an airline?
well i think as a journalist you should arrange to make a bbc documentary about it...i bet plenty of people would be willing to come forward and talk about it...
obviously it wouldnt be able to be broadcast in qatar (akbar would see to that!) but in our own country we can do whatever the hell we like and we have the right to inform people....
there are soo many people who have absolutely no idea what debauchery goes on in the middle east...they see it as some glossy holiday destination..
if i had been given all the information and negative comments that is now on cabincrew.com back in 2009 i would never have gone there...i had an interview booked with gulf air after the QR one...and i never went to it..because i got offered QR first...guess i will never know what i have missed there now...