The aviation industry offers several consulting jobs for those who are interested in such positions. Airline consulting jobs can be in several different fields including marketing, aircraft dispatch and maintenance (engineering and mechanics).
For example, an airline dispatch consultant is a vital constituent in ensuring the smooth functioning of any airline or airport. His or her duties can vary depending on the exact job title and company. Nevertheless, most airline flight dispatchers perform tasks such as coordinating an aircraft’s flight schedules, fueling, managing crew, passenger and luggage loads to achieve optimum weight and balances and ensuring individual pilots receive the appropriate flight information at the right time.
As such, the functions of a dispatch consultant are both hectic as well as intensely demanding.
Even the slightest of errors can result in thousands of dollars worth of loss for the airlines and the airport in addition to danger to the safety and well-being of those travelling via the concerned aircrafts. Moreover, dispatch consultants are typically on the job 24x7, 365 days a year with very little breaks in between.Nevertheless, they do receive a handsome salary as well as specific job related perks such as substantial air travel discounts. In order to become an air dispatch consultant, you will need to possess a bachelor’s degree, preferably one in the sciences or in engineering, followed by specific airline certification. The certification process includes written tests on subjects such as the weather, aeronautical decision making and navigation aids along with practical examinations that test the candidates’ proficiency with job-related equipment as well as their ability to interpret coded weather and ‘Notice to Airman’ postings. Once you have an airline certification from a recognized institution or aviation body, you will need to put in at least a minimum of two years of work into aviation operations before you can be hired on as a consultant.
Similar airline consulting jobs to a flight dispatch consultant include that of airport planners, flight operations coordinators and aviation marketers. Airport planners for example, are charged with anticipating short and long term air transport demands and successfully developing strategies for meeting the same. Flight operations coordinators on the other hand serve as links between the flight crew and ground operations in addition to assisting with gate planning. Finally, aviation marketers are in charge of coming up with new flight routes and modifying existing ones to maximize flight access as well as airline profits.
How to Obtain an Airline Consulting Job