If you’ve ever looked at the airline industry and thought you might actually enjoy running one yourself, it’s easy to get caught up in the idea of it. On paper it sounds exciting and you feel like you’d be in control of something huge. Then you look a little closer and start noticing all the small things that build up behind the scenes. Running an airline isn’t the kind of thing you walk into lightly. There’s a lot to get your head around and you’ll find some parts harder than others. Still, if you’re someone that likes a big project and you don’t mind learning along the way, it could be worth seeing what you’re getting into. Let’s have a look.
Crew
You can’t run anything without the right crew behind you. Airlines are full of people who need to know exactly what they’re doing and you can’t expect them to figure it all out on the spot. Even the most experienced staff still need proper training. Airlines go with Spatial because it just makes sense and you don’t have to babysit people through the basics, they just crack on with it once they’ve done the training and you’re not stood there sorting silly mistakes every five minutes. It just takes the pressure off a bit. You’ll notice when the crew actually know what they’re doing instead of guessing. If you’re happy dealing with people then you’ll manage this part but if you’re not into helping people settle into their roles then yeah it’ll get on your nerves.
Timings
Nothing goes the way you expect. You plan it out and before you’ve even finished your coffee something happens and now you’re fixing that instead of whatever you were meant to be doing. Could be a delay. Could be nothing. Sometimes it’s literally someone being in the wrong place and suddenly you’re sorting it even though it wasn’t your problem ten minutes ago. It piles up fast. If you need a calm day then you won’t get one here because something always pops up.
Costs
The money side just keeps going and half the time you sit there wondering how the hell it got that high when you swear you already added everything. You think you’ve got the numbers sorted and then someone mentions something you didn’t even know was a thing and now you’re back to square one. Planes cost stupid amounts, fuel jumps about, someone always needs paying for something, and repairs just turn up whenever they feel like it. You don’t get a break from it. It’s one thing after another and it never looks the same twice no matter how many times you check it.
Customer experience
Finally, people just want to sit on the plane and not feel like they’re in the way before the flight’s even started. That’s really all it is. If the place looks clean enough and the crew aren’t acting fed up, then most passengers don’t care. They pick up on everything though. Stuff you wouldn’t give a second thought to, they’ll notice. And if something goes wrong, they won’t stay quiet about it because why would they. You don’t have to do anything fancy but you can’t just shrug it off either because it does matter.
