The Air New Zealand Certificate in Airline Customer Service

Tarren McGregor enjoys working at the airport, which is always busy. Picture/ Graeme Sedal

THE QUALIFICATION
The course: The Air New Zealand Certificate in Airline Customer Service
Where: Air New Zealand Airline Training Centre, Mangere, Auckland.
Phone: (09) 255 5701
Email: airlinetraining
Website: www.plane-training.com
Course fees (2006): $2793, international students $5645
Hourly rate: Trainees $13-$15 an hour, with a wage review after six months

There is nothing better for an arriving tourist than to be greeted at an international airport by friendly and efficient staff.

So Air New Zealand has developed a course designed specifically to develop skills in airline customer service.

The 16-week qualification includes the National Certificate in Tourism & Travel - Core Skills, Level 3, as well as specific aviation industry unit standards.

Topics include aviation law, airport security, international travel regulatory requirements, food and beverage service and handling customers with special needs.

Trainees are based at the Air New Zealand training centre and make two familiarisation trips to the airport. They also take a familiarisation flight to experience being a customer.

Some tutors are also active airport and cabin crew; others come from the tourism and hospitality industry. Industry days are factored into the job for students not currently working in the industry.

Applicants must be at least 17 years old, and must undergo a written assessment, covering English comprehension, maths and general knowledge.

Applicants are also interviewed on their interest in customer service and the aviation industry. International applicants need an IELTS of 5 or equivalent.

Nine courses are scheduled in 2007 with the first starting on January 22. Up to 20 students are accepted into each intake.

THE GRADUATE
Tarren Mcgregor
Passenger Service Agent
Menzies Aviation
Graduated in June

I check in passengers for a Pacific airline. I also do arrivals, meet aircraft, greet people and help anyone with special needs.

The international airport is an exciting place. You meet heaps of people and are always busy.

I've had only one irate customer so far and I just kept being really friendly to him. They say one in every 100 will not be happy.

One thing I really loved about the course was that our tutors had industry experience. One was still a customer service agent with Air New Zealand; a couple of others were flight attendants. It was inspiring because their knowledge was so current.

The employer evenings were also great. Quite a few airlines came to promote themselves and look for future staff. They would tell us what the job entailed and how to apply.

When I finished I got offered two jobs at Air New Zealand. I also nearly got a Gulf Air flight attendant job, but was too young. I chose Menzies because I liked the people and was really interested in working in the international airport.

At Menzies we did further training in airline customer service, which was easy because it backed up everything I'd already learned through the course. We also learned the airline checking system before going on to the counter.

I did wonder how I was going to cope with shift work initially. I often have to be up by 3am, but once I'm awake it is fine. Finishing at 10am in summer is going to be awesome.

THE EMPLOYER
Robyn Deuchar
Manager passenger services
Menzies Aviation (NZ)

Menzies Aviation is an independent ground-handler service provider contracting to airlines to provide services from passenger handling to aircraft loading, cleaning and cargo handling.

We employed Tarren because of her attitude, commitment and presentation. We want confident, friendly, outgoing people with customer service and people skills who are confident with IT, because they're dealing with various airline departure control systems.

We also like to see a stable work history and a desire to be in the industry, which Tarren showed through doing the course.

There are a lot of travel courses geared to travel agents and flight attendants , but this is the first course that specifically trains in airport ground services. As an entry-level provider we've been keen to help develop it. We provide guest lecturers and attend the employer evenings to identify potential trainees.

We're only just starting to see graduates from the course and we're finding them ahead in terms of knowledge, understanding terminology and exposure to the airport environment.

It is important to know there is a career path in this industry. Check-in agents can become senior agents who oversee particular flights, monitoring the flight, ordering meals, accepting standby passengers. They can then progress to lead agent and team leader responsibilities, then supervisory roles.