Careers with Commercial Airlines

Commercial airlines provide employment and career prospects for thousands of individuals in almost as many occupational areas. They represent almost a cross section of the world of work within one industry, with jobs ranging from telephone sales through to pilot to catering.

This diversification can be broadly characterised by the terms 'customer contact' and 'non-customer contact' roles, which include the above and more job areas. Below is an explanation of these roles and their importance to the smooth operation of a successful commercial airline.

Customer contact roles:

Telephone sales agents
Many commercial airlines have their own agents designated to sell tickets for their flights. They are seen very much as the first point of contact for any potential customer with that airline and great emphasis is placed on presenting a professional yet friendly image.

Qualifications required - GCSE/S standard education. Previous experience in dealing with customers.

Customer Service Agents
These operate the airline's check - in desk at airports, answering queries about flights, issuing boarding passes, checking bags and ensuring the customer's every need is attended to.

Qualifications required - Usually GCSE/S grades in English Maths and Geography. Possible second language speaking.
Air cabin crew

Possibly the most important customer related job. Air cabin crew need that essential mix of skills and qualities to deal with and anticipate a customer's need within the confines of a modern aircraft.

The air cabin crew are the face and actions of the airline and can often influence a customer's decision as to whether to fly with that particular airline in the future.
As well as excellent people skills, cabin crew may need to converse in another language for international flights.

The job itself is not as glamorous as it may be made out. Air cabin crew have to be willing to work very long and unsociable hours - commercial airlines operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They will also need to live within easy travelling distance of the airport to which they are attached.

As a person they will need to demonstrate a warm and helpful personality, a genuine enjoyment of working with customers from all over the world, they will need to be flexible and be able to work well within a team and keep a cool head when under pressure.

Physically potential air cabin crew applicants need to be aged between 20 and 49 years of age and be between 5'2" and 6'2" in height with weight in proportion.
No specific qualifications required, although a high standard of both written and spoken English is essential.

Non-customer contact roles:

Aircraft maintenance engineer
Aircraft maintenance engineers, often called ground engineers, service, repair and overhaul civil aircraft on the ground. They specialise in mechanical or avionics engineering.

Mechanical engineers specialise further on either airframes or engines. Airframes covers the structure and fabric of the aircraft, plus the wheels, doors, tail flaps, etc. including the associated hydraulics and pneumatics.

Avionics covers the electrical and electronic systems and instruments, including radio and auto - pilot, with some further specialism within this field.
The engineers perform a laid - down routine schedule of pre - flight checks on each aircraft, using special meters and test equipment, signing forms after completion to state that everything is in working order.

They will also carry out checks and inspect or repair any problem reported to them by the pilots on take - off or landing. This may involve total strip downs of equipment to chase the fault down and repair it.

Also the engineers are responsible for full overhauls of aircraft after completion of specified number of air mile, similar to an MOT test on a car. This includes the dismantling of specific items for complete testing adjustment and repair by specialist engineers, where necessary.

Many engineers qualify to become licensed engineers, conducting the more crucial aspects of the work or inspecting, controlling and supervising the work of other engineers.

Aircraft maintenance engineers should not be confused with flight engineers, who operate the aircraft systems during slight and are part of the uniformed flight crew.
Qualifications required

With large airlines, entry is a 3 - 4 year craft apprenticeship at 16 - 17 usually with GCSE/S grades in maths, English and science, preferably physics. Some airlines recruit to 3 - 4 year technician apprenticeships at 17 - 21 with the same subjects at GCSE.

Initial training may be in a training centre, followed by on the job training in an airport working alongside experienced engineers with study at college for a City and Guilds qualification.

Some companies recruit through specific training opportunities for young people, such as Modern Apprenticeships.

Full time college course available include the City and Guilds 2590 Aeronautical Engineering Competencies course, the Brunel College of Art and Technology's Foundation certificate in Aeronautical Maintenance, the BTEC National Diploma in Engineering (Aerospace) or Aeronautical Maintenance Engineering. Oxford Air Training School, a fee - paying college offers an aircraft maintenance course for minimum age 17 and a half students with good secondary education.

Airline Pilot

The job of a pilot of a commercial aircraft involves great responsibility for both the aircraft and for the safety of the crew and all of the passengers. Pilots need to be reliable, calm and level headed, able to take charge in an emergency and have good clear communication skills both within the team on board and with air traffic control.

Their working environment, the flight deck can be very cramped, especially on long haul flights. Flight delays, caused by whatever means as well as the 24 hour nature of the commercial airline business can involve very irregular working hours for pilots. There are, however very strict rules governing the amount of hours spent working between rest periods, and pilots flying long haul schedules can often return on scheduled flight as passengers.

Although the pilot is rarely actually seen, they are often in contact with the passengers during a flight, relaying information regarding weather conditions, flight times, delays, etc. and so they too represent the airline's 'public face' and need to be able to instil confidence and professionalism at all times.

Qualifications required

A CPL (commercial pilot's licence) is required with instrument rating awarded by the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) to fly aircraft registered in the UK 'for hire or reward'. To become the commander of an airliner requires an Airline Transport Pilot's Licence - ATPL (A).

There are a number of ways to obtain the CPL, namely:

1. Full or partial sponsorship and training by an airline - normally requiring a minimum of five GCSE/S grades including English, maths and a science plus two A levels or equivalent.
   
2. Private residential training school with entry standards recommended by the CAA (five GCSE/S grades including English, maths and a science. GNVQ GSVQ and BTEC/SCOTVEC holders will be considered on their merits. This is a very expensive method of training, costing up to £50,000.
   
3. Training as a pilot with one of the armed forces and taking a conversion, or abridged course for qualification as a commercial pilot.
   
4. Gaining a PPL (Private Pilot's Licence) and 700 hours flying experience perhaps by working a an instructor to be eligible to sit for the written and practical test for the CPL. This is also an expensive route, though it can be taken over a longer period.
   

Age requirements are usually between 18 and 24 years of age for individual airlines, with height restrictions for some of between 5'2" and 6'3".

Catering

Each commercial aircraft carries around 40,000 items concerned with the term catering for each flight, including food, drinks, snacks, newspapers, stationary, movies and baby packs. These items are provided by many suppliers and are handled and prepared by the team within the catering division at each airport. Again the 24 hour a day nature ensures that shifts and unsociable hours may be worked.
No specific qualifications are required.

Administrative staff

To ensure that the whole business runs smoothly, airline companies employ a huge number of 'back room' staff to deal with the administration, including Finance management, Information management, General management, Pensions professionals, Purchasing professionals and Business Planning.
Qualifications required - For some airlines such as British Airways, these are graduate positions with study for professional qualifications such as CIMA/ACCA recognised for Finance Management, or Chartered Institute of Purchasing.

Useful Contacts:

Royal Aeronautical Society, 4 Hamilton Place, London, W1J 7BQ.
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7670 4326.
Career Information: http://www.raes.org.uk/cmspage.asp?cmsitemid=0007

Civil Aviation Authority: http://www.caa.co.uk/

Further Information:

Flight Global: www.flightglobal.com/
Reed Business Information: www.reedbusiness.co.uk/