The type of jobs available can be divided into three main sections: ground handling services (e.g. Given the large number of jobs in the sector, it is unsurprising that there are a wide range of occupations and roles. But because many other companies operate globally, I feel I am in a good position to move to different organisations in the future, not least because I speak a number of languages. I was especially drawn to working for British Airways as they are the largest provider in the UK, and as such I feel I will have more opportunities for career development. UK companies face competition from overseas providers as well (Belobaba et al 2009). British Midland and Easy Jet are also well known. British Airways is the largest operator, followed by Virgin Atlantic Airways.
In terms of different organisations, the industry is dominated by a few large organisations, although low-cost players have changed the situation somewhat. The strength and likelihood of growth of the sector, while not directly motivating me to want to join the industry, certainly give me confidence that I will be able to have a life-long career within the industry.
Nearly 150,000 people are employed in the UK directly within the industry, and the sector contributes nearly ?10 billion to GDP (The Air League 2014). UK manufacturing, technology and service providers in the industry are considered world leaders. Within the UK, aviation is a significant contributor to the economy, with UK airports handling 230 million passengers a year. By 2006, air travel growth was approximately 5% year on year, and capacity was thought likely to double by 2021 (Hencke 2006). Globally, there are approximately 2000 airlines with 23,000 aircraft serving over 3500 airports. The airline industry as a whole is large, and is likely to expand particularly if the trend for cheap air travel continues. Many jobs are advertised internally first in many employers, not just B.A. Initially, I felt I should wait until the right job came along, but I was advised by a friend that I should take any job within the organisation and then work my way into the position I wanted. The old saying that travel broadens the mind seems true to me, although it also seems that travel and tourism research has so far concentrated more on why tourists select the destinations they do, rather than the impact on travellers psychology and perceptions (Chon et al 2012). I was drawn to the opportunities for travel, as I see it as a way of learning and personal development. Although I have had a variety of jobs in my career so far, I have always wanted to work for British Airways. My aim is to work in management within the airline industry. I will also look at the career possibilities associated with this role, and look at the relationship between the ideal candidate for this role and my capabilities. In this section, I will look at the airline industry globally and in the UK, outline the areas of work, discuss the different possible job roles, and suggest the one which is right for me. Overall, I will be demonstrating how and why I feel I fit the role of Customer Service Manager within the airline industry, and how I might fill the current gaps in my knowledge and experience.Ģ. I have used models like these to first describe to myself or others my experience, then build conceptual models, abstract key ideas and theorise about what happened in order to do things differently in the future. Gibbs suggests a similar process of describing, analysing feelings, evaluating, analysis and conceptualisation (Moon 2013). In Kolb the learner is encouraged to look at an experience and make observations then form concepts and general theories, which are then tested against more new experience.
Both these models show a way to structure learning. In reflecting on my experience, I have been influenced by a number of models of learning through reflection, including Gibbs’ and Kolb’s. I will be combining intuitive writing about my experiences and capacities with academic research, textbooks and theories. I will also be identifying areas which need to be further worked on. I will be looking critically at my experience and self-learning in order to identify the characteristics which I have that I feel equip me for this role. I will discuss this subject in terms of approaches and insights I have gathered from studying international tourism management and travel tourism management, as well as what I have learnt in this particular module on career development. I want to work in a customer services / management capacity at British Airways, building upon my existing skill-set and experience. In the following paper, I am going to look at my career aspirations in the context of available careers in my chosen industry: the airline industry.