Housing allowance
A monthly payment in place of company accommodation, offered by Gulf carriers to crew who opt out of shared housing.
Definition
A housing allowance is a cash payment towards rent, offered mainly by the Gulf carriers as an alternative to the free company accommodation they provide new crew. It typically becomes available after a qualifying period or at a senior grade, at which point the crew member gives up their company flat and rents privately. Outside the Gulf it is rare: European, Asian and US airlines expect crew to house themselves at their own cost.
What it means for you
Taking the allowance is a lifestyle decision as much as a financial one: privacy and choice of neighbourhood against the certainty of free housing, utilities and 24-hour crew transport. Compare the allowance with real rents near the crew bus routes, and remember that a housing allowance is usually not counted as basic salary for gratuity purposes.
In practice
Emirates crew start in free shared apartments across Dubai and gain the option of a housing allowance after several years; Qatar Airways offers it at senior grades and Etihad after a qualifying period in Abu Dhabi.
Go deeper
Related terms
4 terms- BaseCrew lifeThe airport where your duties start and end and where you must live within reach — the single fact that most shapes a cabin crew life.
- Tax-free salaryPay & benefitsPay received with no income tax deducted, as in the UAE and Qatar — subject to the tax rules of the country you remain resident in.
- Basic salaryPay & benefitsThe fixed monthly amount paid regardless of hours flown; only one part of crew pay, and at US carriers barely present at all.
- End of service benefitPay & benefitsA lump sum paid when you leave a Gulf airline, calculated on basic salary and years of service in place of a pension.