Expert: David A. NewMyer - 8/27/2009

Question
Hello Sir,
          I am presently doing II year MBA in Airline and Airport Management.I chose this field because of wide opportunities in this career.But i realised it is really very unstable in nature.I am really very confused how to approach for job opportunities.I heard most of the people get into this field through recommendations.As an MBA graduate how can i approach and how are the opportunities?How are the opportunities for MBA in MRO Industry?
It will be gratefull if you give some suggestions.

Answer
Hi, Keerthi:

Nice to hear from you, I will try to assist!

An MBA in Airline and Airport Management is an excellent degree to have to help you enter the aviation industry.  However, these are unusual times in that the industry is somewhat depressed because of the state of the economy.  You will have to be patient and work hard to understand the size, structure and nature of the airport and airline segments of the aviation industry in India (which is where I assume you want to work).

I would follow the following strategy to do research into the airport and airline job opportunities that might be available to you:

1.  Make sure that you have an up-to-date resume that clearly outlines your job objective(s), your contact information, your education (including key coursework taken that is related to the jobs that you are applying for), your work experience and any special training or knowledge you may have (key computer software that you have learned, pilot licenses or certificates and so forth).

2.  Do research on the size and scope of the AIRPORT industry in India.  For example, where are the top 25 busiest airports (measured in terms of the number of annual enplaned passengers served) in the nation located, who owns and operates them (is it a state or provincial government, federal government or local government?) and who are the main contacts at these airports?  This research can be done using on-line resources and such documents as the WORLD AVIATION DIRECTORY, which is a publication issued by McGraw Hill in the USA, for example.  In examining the listings for each airport, make sure you take note of the types of positions available at each airport such as airport manager, assistant airport manager, airport operations assistant, airport planning, airport marketing assistant and so forth.  Depending on the size of airport and the qualifications that each airport is looking for, you might well qualify for those positions.

3.  Do research on the top airlines in India such as Air India, Spice Jet, Kingfisher and others.
Have a clear understanding of where their key operating bases are located, what fleets of aircraft that they fly and who their main contacts are for hiring (human resources departments, personnel departments, etc).  Again, search any available information on these airlines in terms of employee listings or department listings to find out what sorts of positions that they hire for including airline marketing, airline sales, flight crew scheduling, fleet planning, customer service manager and so forth.  Again, depending on what they are looking for at each airline, you might well qualify for positions with these and related job titles.

4.  As far as the MRO industry in India, I am not specifically aware of any companies except Hindustan Aeronautics, which, I believe partners with Airbus and Boeing on certain projects.  I do not know what sorts of hiring that they might do from an MBA program, but, if you do have any sort of aviation maintenance or aeronautical engineering background to go with your MBA, I am sure that would be appealing to such a company.

I hope that these suggestions will be of assistance to you.

Best wishes,

David A. NewMyer