| Career |
Job Summary |
Broad Requirements |
| Pilot |
Fly the aircraft. |
Commercial Pilot's Licence. |
| The job of pilot is
one of the most coveted airline positions, it is well paid,
secure, and international. Pilots generally have low career stress
as they have good job security and periodic promotion. The main
career risk is health - regular medical checks must be passed to
maintain the pilot's licence.
In order to apply for airline positions, one must be in
possession of a Commercial Pilot's Licence (CPL), and in some
cases, an Air Transport Pilot's Licence (ATPL). You will also
sometimes need a Type Rating on a specific preferred aircraft of
the potential employer. Finally you will need a pre-requisite
number of flying hours experience.
Except for a fortunate few, the cost of obtaining the necessary
licences and ratings can be quite high. There are costs for both
ground school classes, as well as the cost of accumulating the
necessary flight hours.
There are those who obtain sponsorship of the training by way
of joining the military, being accepted onto one of the rare
airline cadet pilot training schemes, or by way of family or
contacts in the industry. This is the exception.
Pilot training commences with the Private Pilots Licence (PPL)
which normally requires about 40 flying hours. Candidates work
their way up through to larger and more complex aircraft types,
building flying hours along the way.
The main qualifying requirements are good hand-eye
co-ordination, excellent Maths and Science marks, and a stable
personality.
One of the most common routes followed by South Africans is to
obtain their PPL and CPL, and then fly charter operations for a
couple of years to obtain the necessary flying hours experience
whilst being paid to do so.
There are a number of quality flying schools in Southern
Africa, and some not so good. In general one should beware of the
cheaper options. |
| Flight Attendant/Cabin
Crew |
Manage passenger safety and provide
service to the passengers during the flight. |
High school completed.
Customer friendly. Well groomed. Able to swim. 1.55m tall. |
| Please see our
comprehensive Cabin Crew guide sections by clicking
here. |
| Check-In Agent |
Accept passenger documents and
baggage and route them onto the required flight. Assign seating. |
Customer friendly. |
| The check-in agent
position is one of the most popular starting points for an airline
career. Check-in agents generally join directly from school as
there are no major pre-requisites. Candidates who have knowledge
of one of the airline reservations systems will have an advantage.
This knowledge is usually provided during tertiary travel and
tourism studies.
The main qualifying requirements are a matric, and good
attitude to customer service.
The work is often on a shift basis and can involve periods of
high pressure during peak travel periods.
The main tasks of the check-in agent are to greet passengers on
arrival at the check-in desk, weigh and label baggage, allocate
their seats, hand over their boarding passes, and direct
passengers to the boarding gate for their flight. Most of the
tasks involve interaction with the check-in computer system.
Agents will often have to answer a variety of questions from the
passengers.
Training courses for check-in agents are offered by EPT
Aviation Training. |
| Ticket Sales |
Calculate airline fares and issue
passenger tickets. |
Customer friendly. |
| Ground Handling |
Provide passenger assistance services
at the airport. |
Customer friendly. |
| Food Preparation |
Prepare in-flight meals and
refreshments. |
Domestic sciences. |
| Logistics |
Movement of food and equipment to and
from aircraft. |
Able bodied. |
| Shipping Agent |
Acceptance of cargo and cargo
documents at cargo centres. |
Customer friendly. |
| Logistics |
Movement of cargo to and from
aircraft and other vehicles. |
Able bodied. |
| Sales |
Promotion of airline ticket sales to
companies and agents. |
Relationship building. Well groomed. |
| Advertising |
Specification of airline promotional
material and media. |
Creative and business skills. |
| Call
Centre |
Respond to
telephonic customer enquiries and make reservations. |
Telephone skills |
| Technician |
Maintenance and repair of aircraft
and equipment. |
Apprenticeship or technical diploma. |
| Support |
Planning and controlling technical
status and documents. |
Technical literacy. |
| Flight Planning |
Preparing the flight routing and
fuelling plans for each flight. |
Maths literacy. |
| Weight & Balance |
Specifying the loading plan for each
flight. |
Maths literacy. |
| Finance |
Preparing airline accounts and
reports. |
Numeric literacy. |
| Personnel |
Process salaries, benefits, and
employee data. |
People skills. |