Jobs or careers for avgeeks

[MathNerd]

Hi all - hopefully don't need an introduction, been around a while and some of you have probably thought "jeez that MathNerd guy loves his SQ flights and airport codes" or along similar lines.

Well today I come with a humble request: for all of us here on AFF whose lives are so intertwined with aviation (whether it be leisure travel in comfort using points or work travel up and down the Eastern seaboard), we all like it one way or another.

Bit of background, I'm a secondary school mathematics teacher in VIC. Love my maths, love teaching it, so it's a rewarding career.
BUT - I love travel (well, just the flying part - don't we all). The excitement of booking a ticket in J (using points or otherwise) and the eagerness while waiting for the day to roll around, then researching aircraft types, seats, catering, etc etc we've all been there.

I'll cut to the chase - is there a career(s) option out there that involves:
1) GDS, ticketing, interlining, check-in procedures, alliance benefits, airport codes etc; and
2) Flying as a "mystery shopper" of sorts - think being someone who gets sent on a random plane on a random day in J or F and has to write about the experience as feedback/improvement for the airline

Why? Well, one of the very very few things that cheeses me off (trust me, I've got patience in leaps and bounds *except* in specific situations), and I really mean this, is incompetent/adamant check-in agents. For those of you fortunate (unfortunate?) enough to fly out of an airport that isn't "podium ranked" ('podium rank' meaning big ones like LHR, JFK, DXB, SIN, etc; that deal with pax with complex travel itineraries), you'd know all too well the pain of agents not knowing about interline arrangements, baggage allowances, seating decisions etc. You'd have all thought "I know more about this than they do and their job is to know this!". Perfect example - my friend's question about a BLR-SIN-MEL itinerary in J and Y and the legally allowable baggage allowance. Not only did the agent try to argue the destination was SIN, not MEL, they had no clue what the allowance was.

I'd love to train in this area, use knowledge of airport codes, TIMATIC rules, ticketing fare buckets and all that jazz and actually do right by pax (unlike what's experienced all too often).

The second question? Well need I say more? Having a job where you're flying in J or F? Who'd say no to that?

So - to end this essay (sorry for the length, there's so much ground to cover), what training, short courses or literature is out there, and what career options, if any, exist for people that are passionate about aviation from this perspective? Flying/pioot of course is something else but that's on the technical side of aviation.

Thanks Fire away questions, criticisms (is this guy out of his mind?) or well wishes.

There's plenty more to write but I have to restrain myself (the same way that you have to restrain from asking for an entire bottle of Krug on a flight).

 

[Hvr]

https://au.indeed.com/Airport-Customer-Service-jobs-in-Melbourne-Airport-VIC?vjk=510eb30571acd71d

 

[Bjet]

You can be a volunteer at the airport. Brisbane Airport has some volunteer staff to help tourists to find the locations. I am not sure whether Melbourne airport has the volunteer staff or not.

 

[GDale]

This is one of the reasons why I wanted to do this actually! Why not open your own "agency"?

I get so excited about "boring" things like fare rules, and love handling tickets and bookings (even if I'm not the one flying), so am exploring how I can do more of that without necessarily committing to a career change. If you like, I can let you know if/how I get on with setting this up!

I did also look into whether there is such a thing as a part time air traffic controller or pilot, but neither seemed very viable unfortunately.

 

[tdimdad]

For the training side, first thing that comes to mind is working in an airline's internal training team. Or set up a consultancy which focuses on the quality and efficiency of the customer interface.

For flying in J/F? Becoming another vlogger??? But you'd need something different that provides good commercial value to the airlines. The good clever people here might figure out what that angle could be.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Old thread, I put in a reply re: working/training as a ta, then realised the thread was an older one.
My reply then got wiped.
But yeah, the vlogger ones, via Patreon seems to make money, not an assured amount, but people do support food and travel vloggers.

 

[SOPOOR]

Hi all - hopefully don't need an introduction, been around a while and some of you have probably thought "jeez that MathNerd guy loves his SQ flights and airport codes" or along similar lines.

Well today I come with a humble request: for all of us here on AFF whose lives are so intertwined with aviation (whether it be leisure travel in comfort using points or work travel up and down the Eastern seaboard), we all like it one way or another.

Bit of background, I'm a secondary school mathematics teacher in VIC. Love my maths, love teaching it, so it's a rewarding career.
BUT - I love travel (well, just the flying part - don't we all). The excitement of booking a ticket in J (using points or otherwise) and the eagerness while waiting for the day to roll around, then researching aircraft types, seats, catering, etc etc we've all been there.

I'll cut to the chase - is there a career(s) option out there that involves:
1) GDS, ticketing, interlining, check-in procedures, alliance benefits, airport codes etc; and
2) Flying as a "mystery shopper" of sorts - think being someone who gets sent on a random plane on a random day in J or F and has to write about the experience as feedback/improvement for the airline

Why? Well, one of the very very few things that cheeses me off (trust me, I've got patience in leaps and bounds *except* in specific situations), and I really mean this, is incompetent/adamant check-in agents. For those of you fortunate (unfortunate?) enough to fly out of an airport that isn't "podium ranked" ('podium rank' meaning big ones like LHR, JFK, DXB, SIN, etc; that deal with pax with complex travel itineraries), you'd know all too well the pain of agents not knowing about interline arrangements, baggage allowances, seating decisions etc. You'd have all thought "I know more about this than they do and their job is to know this!". Perfect example - my friend's question about a BLR-SIN-MEL itinerary in J and Y and the legally allowable baggage allowance. Not only did the agent try to argue the destination was SIN, not MEL, they had no clue what the allowance was.

I'd love to train in this area, use knowledge of airport codes, TIMATIC rules, ticketing fare buckets and all that jazz and actually do right by pax (unlike what's experienced all too often).

The second question? Well need I say more? Having a job where you're flying in J or F? Who'd say no to that?

So - to end this essay (sorry for the length, there's so much ground to cover), what training, short courses or literature is out there, and what career options, if any, exist for people that are passionate about aviation from this perspective? Flying/pioot of course is something else but that's on the technical side of aviation.

Thanks Fire away questions, criticisms (is this guy out of his mind?) or well wishes.

There's plenty more to write but I have to restrain myself (the same way that you have to restrain from asking for an entire bottle of Krug on a flight).

I Can relate to it and would love a job like this..... until i realise id have to deal with qantas for ticketing....... no thanks