The World We Live In

The past couple of weeks has reminded us all in the industry of the tragedies that can strike so unexpectedly. Safety critical events have occurred thrice, initially with the downing of MH17, a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 with 298 souls on board, followed by the loss of AH5017, a SwiftAir MD83 operating on behalf of Air Algerie with 116 people on board. Here is not the place to go into the details of the accidents or how they occurred but working within the industry these events serve as a reminder of the risks.

In addition to these two events, the temporary ban on flights into Tel Aviv airport by US and European authorities, also shows how tragic world events can impact on the aviation industry.

I was working at the airport when news first broke about MH17 coming down in Ukraine and the possible circumstances surrounding it's crash. The first thing I (and some others in the office) did was look at my schedule and see if any of the aircraft I was dispatching were due to fly over Ukraine.

Although everyone's thoughts should be with those that lost their lives and their families and loved ones, I think it is worth mentioning that there are going to be people affected by the tragedies that no one has mentioned. The dispatchers, gate staff and ramp crews at Amsterdam and Ouagadougou were probably the last people to see those on the aircraft alive and I can't imagine how they have been affected by the loss on their flights.

So all I have left to say is that my thoughts are with all of those affected in some way by the tragic events of the last couple of weeks and that all we can do is hope and pray that there is no more loss of life in such tragic circumstances.

**EDIT** I have just remembered the loss of GE222, a TransAsia Airways ATR-72 with 58 people on board (48 have tragically died, with the remainder seriously injured). My thoughts go out to those affected by this accident and my apologies for overlooking it during my first draft.

.....And Breathe!

So today has been a lonnnnnggg day at the end of a long year. As some of you will know, the past 12 months didn't get off to the best of starts (understatement of the century), and so completing the final year of my degree has been a struggle at the best of times, and felt impossible at the worst. And yet today, at 3am (more on the ridiculous early wake up late), I checked my results and saw that I had earnt a Lower Second Class Honours degree in Air Transport Management.

Whilst 13 months ago, I would have hoped for a 2:1 minimum, this is a great result for me considering I thought I would be lucky to pass at the end of my exams last month. Four years of uni have paid off, and furthermore....I HAVE A GRADUATE JOB!!!!!!!!

Yes that's correct, in addition to my results, I have been offered employment in a graduate role starting in September in London. So the big city awaits for Beth (my fiancée for those that don't know) and I, but before then I have an extremely busy couple of months.

In addition to the usual ridiculous amount of birthdays over the summer (including mine), I have recently started a summer job as a Aircraft Dispatcher with a leading UK ground handling agent at a local airport (hence the 3am starts) and it looks that I will be going live, dispatching aircraft by myself from Monday. In addition to the obvious benefit of being paid, this job is getting me some experience, whilst allowing me to be a plane nut to my hearts content.

As you would expect in any passenger service industry, there are certain challenging moments, some caused by customers, some by colleagues and some by.....,well the French (more on the French in another post). Whilst these challenges can cause problems, they can liven the job up and do stop complacency.

As I'm sure you can understand, I'm on a bit of a life high at the moment, so here's some inspirational music for you all :)