Professionalism in Aviation

Professionalism can be viewed as several different variants. The Merriam-Webster defines professionalism as: the skill, good judgment, and polite behavior that is expected from a person who is trained to do a job well. The conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession or a professional person. The following of a profession (as athletics) for gain or livelihood (Merriam-Webster,  2013). Personally when I think of professionalism I think of someone's characteristics and personality, that allows them to succeed and have the skills set to maintain an efficient and productive work ethic. Professionalism can be divided into two categories, how someone conducts themselves and how a person is able to use the abilities they have to optimize their performance. On the other hand a professional can have a more broad range of definitions and is the other side of professionalism. A professional is someone that is paid to participate in a sport or activity. Relating to a job that requires special education, training, or skill. Done or given by a person who works in a particular profession (Merriam-Webster, 2013). This may be the case for many professionals that are in the work force right now, they may be a professional in their field, however, have a small amount of professionalism when doing their work. A professional is the title you carry and professionalism is how you carry yourself while performing your tasks.

            In aviation I believe that the traits needed to maintain your professionalism are different from other occupations, due to the requirements of the work being done. The first trait that one might need in the aviation industry is flexibility/durability. Due to the high demands of the schedule it is extremely important to remain flexible when it comes to time and location and most importantly be willing and accepting. Aviation is not a 9-5 job that you will be at home every night to have dinner with the family, in most cases your job might not allow you to see your family or friends for several days at a time. Job location is another area of concern for many that requires a lot of consideration. There might be a great opportunity elsewhere that can allow you to achieve your future aspirations, unfortunately, this many require you to work in a different city, state or country. If a pilot has a family there is a lot to consider with the uprooting and replanting of your children or spouse. In some cases the spouse of the pilot may have a great job with good pay and benefits and would be difficult to find a job of that same status elsewhere. It may be a case where the pilot may have to commute long distances before each shift, requiring them to take a connection flight to their destination adding several hours to their day. The demands may be high and will require the pilots and his family to be both flexible and durable. The second trait needed to succeed in the aviation industry is being able to connect with people. Many people think that you must have an extraverted personality to connect with people, however, there is a difference between outgoing and connecting. The key is connecting with people because of the "small world" nature of the aviation industry, networking is your greatest asset. In today's society it is becoming more accessible to connect with people and easier to find information about others, it is important to consistently monitor what is open to the public. Recently there has been a shift in the work force, applicants have changed their mind sets and instead of being concerned what they can do for the company their main concern is what the company can do for them, advertising and branding themselves. The last trait I find vital in the aviation industry is the ability to adapt, grow, and master your skills and abilities. It is an industry that requires your heart in all that you do and you must possess a passion to be the best that you can be, constantly learning and adjusting. Flying is a skill, without learning the skill can diminish and/or become lackluster. Flying is a skill that requires constant involvement in, many times you see airline pilots fall into a mind set or a cycle that they only fly for work and do not fly outside of work or for fun or practice. I believe that it is important to be involved in other areas and sectors of aviation and never just limit flying to just a job or a way to pay a bills. I have found that the pilots that have had envelopment in aviation or connected to other areas of aviation outside of their jobs, give the most to learn from and provide the most insight. The ones not involved or just fly for work are the ones that seem to have a bitter view on aviation and defer aspiring pilots away from aviation. Involvement leads to practice, practice leads to perfection, perfection leads to success.

            In the situation that I am in, working at a FBO I am able to see varying types and styles of professionalism, or lack thereof. There has many great examples of professionalism that I have seen within aviation, one example that comes to mind is a situation that I got to witness and how well the pilots handled it. Over the summer we had a flight come in on a Gulfstream Four from a company that we have dealt with in the past. Upon landing they had a major issue with the nose landing gear that caused the plane to be grounded, without hesitation the pilots discussed the situation to the passengers and would do their best to help them reach their destination. During this time both pilots were on separate computers and constantly making phone calls and arrangements for about 45 minutes straight. They were working together to try to figure out the best course of action for their passengers. The pilots were able to find an air-charter company that could have the plane at the airport ready to go in 1 hour and 30 minutes, as well as, upgrading the hotel rooms to suites with a catered meal ready upon arrival with no extra cost to the passengers. In that time they also scheduled maintenance to come do the necessary repairs. The way the pilots conducted their work was a great example of professionalism, not only being able to safely land the aircraft with a nose gear malfunction, the pilots took matters into their own hands and not just let dispatch handle the situation. The promptly worked to ensure that the safety and needs of the passengers were met and exceeded, all while informing dispatch, maintenance, and the FBO of the situation and what would be the decisions made.

            On the other hand, there has been many unprofessional experiences that we have had to deal with. Most recently I had to deal with a situation that was very unprofessional on both the pilots and dispatch part and I was stuck in the middle of it. A week ago week had a crew fly in on a Beech Jet 400 to pick up a package and depart to pick up some passengers in another state. Before arrival we received a fax from dispatch with a fuel release and a flight plan for the crew, we also received a transmission on the Unicom system from the pilots informing of the fuel load they would be needing but not to worry about it because they won't be departing for an hour and a half after arriving. Upon arrival the First officer informed me of the fuel load again and the captain informed me they would be departing an hour and a half later. 20 minutes later the captain came to the desk and asked if the plane has been fueled yet, after explaining to her that we had two other planes come in within that 20 minutes we were not able to fuel the plane yet. The captain began to make a scene in front of other customers and management, stating that she has never been treated so poorly and was disrespected by our actions. As management tried to reason with the captain to help control the situation we quickly fueled the plane in 10 minutes, she was fueled and billed within 35 minutes after arrival. Once being billed the First Officer stated we were 200 gallons short for their fuel load, even thought we fueled what they stated on the Unicom and on the fuel release from dispatch, the plane could not physically hold 200 more gallons. The captain continued to discredit our work and blamed the line men for making them late for no apparent reason, she even called the customer they were picking up to tell them why she was late. That crew didn't depart for another 30 minutes waiting for their release from dispatch, as they were walking to the plane I made sure that they were all set and see if they needed anything else, the captain replied by saying "thank you for waiting our time and making us late for no reason" and jumped on the plane. Very unprofessional on many if not all levels, starting with misinforming departure time, fuel load, mistreating the line workers and management, publicly disrupting other customers, not coordinating with dispatch, and personally calling the customers cell phone to rant about why she thought they were late.

            In the situation that I am in right now as a student, there are many things that can be done to exhibit professionalism. One can be showing up to class on time, not skipping class for unnecessary reasons, and doing the best you can on the work that is given to you. Showing a desire to be in class and benefit as much as you can from what is being taught. Putting the time and effort knowing that it will benefit you in both the short term and long term. Another way to show professionalism is not burning bridges with class mates and instructors. Respecting your teachers wishes and respecting other class mates opinions. It is important to show them respect and keep in connection with them given the nature of the industry and could lead to future opportunities. It is extremely important that you remain positive and respectful with whoever you may meet, and never disregard a possible connection. The last area that can become extremely helpful is trying to be involved as much as you can in the industry. Constantly looking for opportunities and ways to learn, whether it be internships, clubs or groups within aviation, jobs, or volunteer. The more involvement within aviation can be a great for understanding and learning on how the industry works and functions on other levels of the industry. It can give a student a better overall knowledge of aviation that they cannot learn in class. The more involvement can also lead to a larger networking base that can be beneficial once graduating. As a professional it is my job to lean as much as I can about the profession, continuously learning and developing.  

            Professionalism is something that will always be a learning process throughout life you learn how to handle different situations different ways and in different manners. Throughout my career there are several ways to remain professional, first is always having a positive influence on the people I meet. Remaining professional not just in the work environment but in a personal environment, how I conduct myself as a person and how I act in public. There are many factors that can influence the perception that people can make when seeing you or meeting you, everything from the clothes you wear, to the way you react and interact, what you laugh at or find humors, to what your opinion is on certain matters, there is a great amount that goes into how people perceive who you are as a person. Another area that could be helpful is being involved in other aviation activities. Obviously piloting is the career goal but being involved in other areas at work that could be being on a safety commodity, pilots association, training, trying to find within the work place to have a part in. Looking for opportunities in the community to help further the growth of aviation and help encourage aspiring pilots and being able to connect with other pilots in the area. There are safety seminars that can bring light to a issue that has been over looked and aviation conferences with a wealth of information and opportunities. Below are some links of some articles on professionalism within aviation.    

Reference

Evens, Terra (2009-2013). Encouraging professionalism in your staff- Flight Training. Retrieved   November 5, 2013, from http://flighttraining.aopa.org/fsb/news/110815encouraging-professionalism-in-your-staff.html

Hopkins, Jay (2010, January 19). Training: The Professional Pilot. Flying Magazine. Retrieved                  November 5, 2013, from http://www.flyingmag.com/safety/training/training-professional-pilot

Johnson, Bill Dr. & Smith, Steve (2011, December 21). Professionalism: A ‘Must Have’ For All               Aviation Workers. Retrieved November 4, 2013, from http://www.aviationpros.com/article/10456996/ramp-workers-must-be-professionals-to-ensure-safety

National Safety Council (2010, May 27). NTSB reviews professionalism in aviation. Retrieved                 November 5, 2013, from http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/4842

Merriam-Webster Incorporated (2013). Dictionary and Thesaurus. Merriam-Webster Online.                     Retrieved November 4, 2013, from http://www.merriam-webster.com