Airline careers for Social Scientists: part two

New IATA Director General Saadia Zahidi is an Economist rather than an Engineer or a Pilot. To celebrate the the dismal science and its associate disciplines here on Airline Revenue Economics, I am covering career opportunities for Social Scientists in aviation. Last week I wrote about careers for specialists in Anthropology, Accounting, Economics, Economic History, Finance, Geography, Environment, History and International Relations. Today I am covering Law, Management, Maths, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology, Sociology & Social Policy, and Statistics. These are all departments at the London School of Economics (pictured above) that offer undergraduate degrees in the Social Sciences. Advertisement: Airline Revenue Economics is on holiday. During August there will be one article a week rather than the usual three. Returning on Wed-2-Sep. Aviation careers for Law The warmest feedback I ever received in my career came from Qatar Airways head of Contracts Marius Kotze. In response to my first draft of a Scope of Service and Deliverables section in a Contract, he said “Dear Oliver, The proposed wording is acceptable”. If you have ever had cause to deal with an airline’s Contracts department, who are well known for high standards and requiring many re-drafts, you will realise that is high praise indeed. Thanks Marius! The Contracts department at an airline is one of the few parts of the organisation that actually cover everything. Aircraft, fuel, personnel, IT consumables, accountancy services and more all have to be bought and paid for. Many legal eagles might see Contracts as their natural home. But Industry Affairs departments which cover the relationships between airlines, other carriers and nation states also get heavily involved in Law. Both paths are good for Law specialists. Aviation careers for Management Digging out my copy of the LSE undergraduate course guide from 2002-3 I see much in the Management Sciences degree that looks right at home in an aviation context. Courses listed include “Operational Research Methods”, “Statistics for Management Science”, “Aspects of Market Research” and “Simulation Modelling and Analysis”. Airline Operations Research departments answer some questions that are undoubtedly fascinating. Some outcomes are elegantly simple corner solutions, reached by leaps of faith rather than extensive step-by-step optimisation analysis. For example, on an Airbus A300 freighter aircraft the water gauge sometimes only has two levels, empty and full. You cannot just plug in a hose for half the usual time and hope for the best as the gauge may look like the aircraft is half loaded with water even if it is actually not. But to fully load the plane with water when there are only two pilots on board is wasteful as water is heavy. The Operations Research-type solution is to load bottled water for the pilots instead. Operations Research teams also answer some questions that sound a bit off at first glance but when you think about it are quite interesting, statistically speaking. An example would be how often an airline should de-scale its lavatories. Scale creates weight and is added flight by flight and burns fuel. On the other hand, de-scaling is costly and may require extensions to aircraft down-time, so the aircraft cannot be out earning revenue. An Operations Research specialist would figure out when the benefits of de-scaling exceed the costs. It is easy to see Management graduates in many airline departments. Aviation careers for Maths You might imagine Maths as something more associated with the natural Sciences and Engineering than Social Science. But Maths is just as much a part of Social Science as anything else. Mathematical logic is used extensively in Philosophy, and Economics can get quite mathsey too. Especially for those really into Econometrics. Using Maths to create models that simplify the world to derive important truths is an important part of any field. Those models come in particular use in industries with complex market dynamics like aviation. Maths specialists are often highly skilled in developing algorithms. They would fit right in to Revenue Management or Operations Research. But in all honesty it is hard to see a career paths in aviation where Maths would not fit in somehow. Aviation careers for Philosophy While Philosophy is not obviously commercial, that does not mean it is unhelpful for airlines. In fact the contrary may be true. Philosophy specialists might help airlines avoid optimising away all the good stuff. Philosophy teaches decision-making based on logic, argument and first principles. Many airline departments are asked to trade-off one course of action against another. It is hard to see a Philosophy specialist signing off on BA’s decision to offer breakfast at 12 noon in Business Class on long-distance flights because they would actually think about it. Philosophy specialists could find careers in Fleet and Network Planning, Revenue Management, Industry Affairs, Sustainability and elsewhere. When it comes to Revenue Management, Philosophy adds an interesting ethical dimension. Current airline pricing is not always fair for consumers because published fares do not always reflect what airlines will actually accept. At some points in the booking window, some airlines expect most people buying seats to have corporate or high volume discounts of some kind. Accordingly they inflate the fares published so the discount reflects what they will be happy with. Whether or not airlines should seek to receive and then accept or decline price offers from customers comes with ethical benefits as well as potential profit. AI in Pricing also involves ethical questions, such as the extent to which human decision-makers should be involved at all. Airlines would benefit from having people with a Philosophy background on the team to help assess opportunities like this. The best option for Philosphy experts keen on joining airlines will be to look for conventional commercial opportunities and start shaping their career once in. Aviation careers for Politics Airline exposure to government, regulation, tax, labour policy and foreign policy is unusually high. Not only do they deal with governments in their home and destination countries, international politics can affect flight paths and fuel burn directly as airlines over-fly third-party states. Out of all the Social Sciences, Politics may be the single most relevant one to aviation. Without Economics and the rest, airlines cannot fly profitably. Without strong or at least reasonably favourable political relationships, they may not be able to fly at all. A Politics graduate starting out in aviation might look for roles that cover briefings, lobbying, consultation responses and stakeholder management. Airport work and environmental regulation projects may also appeal. Aviation careers for Psychology Airlines are fundamentally people businesses. That does not mean Psychology specialists should join Human Resources, although that is an option. How flight, cabin and ground crew work together requires careful management. Safety culture must be nurtured. Psychologists have a good background to make that happen. But elsewhere it would be fascinating to set a group of Psychologists loose on an airline’s frequent flyer database, tasked with figuring out how the Loyalty programme is or is not optimised for real consumers. Behavioural analysis conducted by psychologists can be helpful for almost all customer-facing parts of an airline. Think queue management in Ground Services or at the Contact Centre, compensation policy for delays and disruption. Even upselling paths and loss aversion strategies in Pricing. Aviation careers for Sociology & Social Policy Sociology and Social Policy are strong fits for aviation because airlines are always interacting with public systems, regulations and questions of fairness. Airlines and airports are also part of wider social infrastructure, supporting skilled jobs, regional development and investment. Social Policy specialists are likely to bring a practical understanding of how policy choices affect different group of people in different ways. Related issues might include disability access, family travel and workforce policy. All are relevant in the cabin, in the airport and even in the airline’s office. British Airways say: ”We care about our people and value their contributions to our business. Creating a workplace which creates a sense of wellbeing and belonging enables people to thrive. This philosophy is championed by our leaders and colleagues and supported by our relationships with external partners … Establishing a network of over 570 wellbeing champions and sponsors throughout the business ensures that support is provided where it’s needed most”. Could have been written by Social Policy expert! Sociology is closely related to Social Policy and addresses behaviour, institutions, inequality, access and how people respond to rules and incentives. As elsewhere, it would be fascinating to let Sociologists loose on Loyalty and fare rules databases. Sociology graduates might find careers Loyalty, Customer Experience, HR, Internal Communications and even Network Planning, where route decisions can have social as well as commercial effects. For those with a Social Policy background should consider careers in Accessibility, Government Affairs, Sustainability, Corporate Responsibility and customer disruption policy, where airlines are often judged not just on efficiency but on how they treat people. Aviation careers for Statistics Statistics is relevant to every part of aviation. Operational optimisation, Revenue Management, Sales & Marketing, Flight Operations and others all use detailed data to take decisions. As with Maths, it is hard to imagine a career path in aviation where a Statistics specialist would not fit in. All airline departments need their data scientists. One of the key challenges for airlines today is using data across silos. Finding ways that established data can solve new problems will be valuable to airlines. I have made something of a career of this myself, using Revenue Management-style data to help Product Development teams figure out what types of seating, catering, service and entertainment are most likely to be profitable. Conclusion Airlines are full of career opportunities for Social Scientists. I encourage everyone interested to have a go and apply.