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SYDNEY AIRPORT
Corporate & Commercial
FINANCE, ROUTE PLANNING, LEGAL, PROCUREMENT, SALES & MARKETING and more...Finance & Legal
You are logical, responsible, enjoy interesting projects and have great attention to detail. If you’re interested in finance or accounting you might find airline, airports and aviation financial management interesting. Responsibilities are broad and varied, often with a global aspect. Working in the finance function, you are involved in financial decisions ranging from structuring finance for large scale equipment purchase, such as aircraft engines or landing gear, to evaluating the profitability of routes. Most airlines sell fares in a variety of currencies in different countries, so you gain great international finance experience working for an airline. Similarly for airports and aviation organisations, financial aspects of these organisations are complex, requiring careful management so this can be exciting.
If you are interested in the legal aspects of aviation, there are lots of different avenues. You can consider being an in-house lawyer with an airline, airport or aviation organisation. Alternatively you can specialise in aviation law and work for a specialist legal practice. Areas of aviation law include leasing, contracts, insurance, compliance, commercial and litigation. Aviation law is interesting as it is multi-faceted, working with multiple stakeholders, often advising on projects with a global aspect.
Sales & Marketing
You are outgoing, diplomatic, great with people and work well in a team. The sales side of an airline is extensive as airlines sell through several channels, directly to the traveller, via travel agents and to corporate customers. Infrastructure to support this network of sales relies heavily on digital platforms for direct sales, on personal relationships with corporate customers and on both digital platforms and sales contracts with travel agent customers. If you enjoy building relationships and are interested in working in sales it’s a dynamic industry. The sales teams also contribute to ‘packaging each product’ for different countries so they resonate and relate to the local customers. It’s creative and exciting work. Marketing programs are extensive and often global, requiring a lot of consumer research and campaign development and delivery. If you’re passionate about consumer behaviour or you are creative and interested in designing engaging marketing campaigns, consider working in the aviation industry.
Product & Brand
You love product design, are creative, a team player and a clear communicator. Product development is extremely important in aviation, competition is fierce and the emphasis is on quality, safety and brand differentiation. The product team in an airline has to combine the expertise of engineers, procurement and product development specialists to design every element of the airline experience. This includes seat design, inflight entertainment systems, inflight food, service, even the signage at the airport. Product development in aviation includes a wide range of projects, from Boeing designing IT product solutions for customers to GE designing & supporting engines on 70% of Australia’s domestic aircraft.
If you’re creative with an eye for detail and love being involved in a broad cross-section of projects, you will love branding for aviation. Brand development and design are essential in the digital world. Brand identity is important to define and develop for large organisations to ensure the messages of the organisation are consistent and represent the company appropriately. Branding is present at all customer touch points – from airport signage to the look and feel of the boarding pass, to the tone of the companies communications. Strong branding is essential to differentiate the business and to reassure the customer of the consistency of the product.
People
You are calm, diplomatic and enjoy a fast paced work environment. Airlines, airports, aviation services and aviation providers are usually large organisations, often running 24/7 at various locations. These organisations rely heavily on the People and Human Resource teams to make sure all employees are working in an environment that is healthy, productive and offers opportunities for advancement and growth. This includes aspects such as equality, diversity, remuneration, opportunity creation and regulatory compliance.
Procurement
You’re a good negotiator, have great communications skills and you have an eye for detail. Large scale contract negotiation and supply chain management is an important aspect of the aviation industry. Procurement is significant, from aircraft lease contracts to engine purchases. From service contracts to fuel negotiations and landing rights contracts. It’s interesting procurement and trading work for people passionate about this aspect of business.
Network Planning & Route Management
Are you good at strategising, have great attention to detail, great people skills and great situational awareness skills? Sophisticated Network Planning & efficient Route Management are essential for a profitable airline operation. Network planning is the process of reviewing potential new destinations, forecasting demand for new routes, evaluating competition by route and assessing whether there is sufficient “space” in the market for additional flights. Route Management is the daily management of the profitability of air fares, consolidation of flights (if needed) and the monitoring and management of passenger and cargo load factors to ensure profitability.