When I started my life in aviation, air traffic control was part of the corporate structure of the local airline, Malev. A bit like having the police department integrated into the taxi company and with no less interesting situations that arose when the owner airline was not given the priority they desired.
So, yes I have worked for an airline and it was not bad. We were even entitled to free travel and this was being granted long after IATA had decided that controllers were not really worthy of the privilege.
Good. But all that was long ago and we are now interested in what it is to be working for an airline today.
Around February each year, Fortune magazine publishes an article describing the 100 best companies to work for. I browsed the list with interest. Google is number 4, Cisco number 16, Intel 99 and Colgate-Palmolive 100. So, who are the first 3? Are there any airlines up there? Nope! Other than FEDEX at the 90th position, there is no airline or even aircraft manufacturer mentioned at all.
Are we so bad that we do not make the grade allowing us to enter this elite club of 100?
Fortune magazine claims that the data forming the basis of this ranking comes from the most extensive employee survey in corporate America.
In order to participate, you have to apply but any company at least 7 years old with more than a 1000 US employees is eligible. 343 companies participated in the latest survey but we do not know whether airlines and other aviation types were simply not interested or (even worse) none of them made it to the top 100.
You might say this is not surprising, what with the state of the industry being what it is and lay-offs being more the rule than the exception, who would still consider airlines a good place to work at?
But this should not be a problem. American Express at the 73rd position still made it after firing 4000 people…
Anyway, does it matter that there are no airlines in Fortune’s list of 100 best companies to work for?
Aviation has always depended on attracting bright young talent to keep its blood flowing energetically. Although we have probably lost most of the patina that the likes of William Boeing, Juan Trippe and Robert Crandall had bestowed upon our industry, the companies making up this wonderful enterprise cannot afford to be seen as sausage factories where you simply go and work some then go home and enjoy your beer.
Aviation needs people who are dedicated and totally focused on what they are doing and who can also accept that this is a cyclical business where every so often you must forego some your perks to ensure that the dream survives.
From Fortune’s list it is clear that the most liked companies are not necessarily those who pay the highest salaries or have fired the lowest number of people.
At the top are companies where purpose meets dedication, where a sense of belonging is created on the basis of a sense of ownership, where you work not because you have to but because you want to.
That is the description of a good airline. Hopefully in future editions of the Fortune list, aviation related corporations will be better represented, claiming the top spots!
