Aviation Life

Training

New IATA aviation courses in India

EAW Staff - Mumbai

"The Government of India's open policies towards modernisation and privatisation of airports in India and the trend to link the country's important towns and cities with a cluster of domestic flights, will all, naturally, result in an unprecedented demand for trained personnel in the airline and airport segments," said Peggy Esseldeurs, assistant director, IATA Training & Development Institute, Canada at the launch of new IATA courses in India at the Speedwings Academy for Aviation Services, Cochin, the leading IATA Authorised training centres in South India, held recently in Cochin.

She continued "Due to the growth in the number of airlines that are operating to India, and the large influx of tourists that are arriving into India, priority and importance has to be given to customer service". This fact has been duly endorsed by the aviation industry globally and, today, IATA has attached great importance to customer service in their training programmes.

Esseldeurs clarified, "Unlike other courses of IATA which are currently being conducted for passenger and cargo agency training in association with UFTAA and FIATA, the new aviation courses are conducted by IATA directly and are the first of their kind in the aviation industry. These courses mainly focus on the commercial aspects of airline and airport operations."

Airline and airport customer service, cargo marketing and perishable cargo handling, airline call center training etc are some of the courses based on airport operation, ICAO, funding, master plan, safety and security systems including navigational systems. Cost reduction and unhealthy competition from LCCs are a threat to the industry. In this context, IATA comes up with the airline call center training to provide professional information and service to the Customers Esseldeurs conferred the authorisation to conduct seven new IATA aviation courses on the Speedwings aviation academy. Accepting the certificate, Biji Eapen, Chairman & CEO of Speedwings Aviation Academy, mentioned that the introduction to Air Transportation & Airline Industry and Airline Call Centre training are a must for persons in the aviation, travel and tourism industry from entry-level personnel to senior executives and managers". He said that these new aviation courses will definitely help enrich the knowledge of the airline and airport personnel and customised short term courses are being planned to suit their convenience.

While presiding over the function, Mr. A.C.K. Nair, Director- CIAL, said, "The new courses will instill professionalism in the aspirants looking for exciting and lucrative jobs in the aviation industry and will enhance their expertise to meet the present global challenges.

The function was well-attended by dignitaries from airline, travel and tourism industry. C.R. Venugopal, COO of Speedwings, gave a briefing on the courses.

With an eye on globalisation, Speedwings Academy, today, offers new IATA Aviation courses. Examinations will be held twice in an year - March & September and the international diplomas will be awarded by IATA . The courses are:

Airline Customer Service

Increasingly, attention to the customer is becoming the criterion by which a company is judged. This course is designed for all customer contact staff including:

• Ticket office, reservations, check-in, traffic, operations, baggage service and tourist information desks

• Cargo reservations and receiving

• Public relations and sales support personnel

• Flight attendants

Airport Customer Service

A course designed and recommended for anybody wanting or starting to work in a commercial function within an airport environment as an entry-level airport employee and covers knowledge of key customer service skills and a better airport service provider.

Cargo Marketing

A course that helps expand horizons with marketing strategies and is designed for:

• Cargo sales professionals

• Marketing and sales managers

• Regional or district sales managers with cargo responsibilities

• Senior cargo agents and specialists

• Airport managers wanting a cargo perspective for future business development

• Cargo marketing consultants.

Shipping Perishable Cargo

In order develop and implement a plan to minimise losses, a course designed for:

• Airline acceptance staff, shippers and freight forwarders

• Cargo sales representatives

• Special cargo training specialists

• Auditors from Departments of Transportation, Civil Aviation and Health Authorities

• Operations and station managers.

Introduction to Air Transportation

To develop a comprehensive understanding of the air transportation industry, the roles and responsibilities of civil aviation administrations, airlines, airports and air navigation system providers. It is a course designed for:

• New or experienced managers coming into aviation from another industry

• Recently promoted employees working within the industry

• Individuals wishing to enhance their understanding of the air transportation environment.

Introduction to the Airline Industry

A course designed and recommended for anybody interested to work or starting a career in the airline industry at the entry-level.

Airline Call Centre Training

A course designed and recommended for an individual joining or wanting to join as an entry-level airline call center agent.