Transportation types and associated work roles

Transportation is key to a successful travel and tourism industry. There are many different types of transportation; airlines, cars, boats, bicycles, campervans, buses are just a few examples of some of the different types.  But have you heard of limo bikes or space travel orbits or even a tuk-tuk? Transportation is diverse and can be anything from ancient to the latest space-age MIG jets or rockets.

 

Airlines are a major employer of people who work in transportation and many people see working for airlines as a very glamorous job.   

One of the great things about working for an airline is that there are so many different positions available.  

Positions with an airline can be found at:

• The airport 
• Reservations (Call Centre) 
• Head Office 
• Ticket Office 

The airport atmosphere is exciting and electric; there is usually something going on. Many people enjoy working in this area, perhaps it is because working at the airport is the next best thing to travelling yourself.  

Activity

Identify the names of various jobs available at the airport.

Passenger Service Agent (PSA) or Check-in Agent

You may be based in a number of places around the airport: 

• At the check-In counter 
• At the gate (where the flight departs) 
• At the ticketing counter 
• In the VIP Lounge 

You may be undertaking a number of TASKS and DUTIES:  

• Check passengers on to flights
• Assist passengers to use self-check systems
• Check passengers' passports and hand out customs documents  
• Check international passengers are allowed to enter the countries they are travelling through
• Check customers' baggage complies with restrictions
• Weigh baggage and collect payment for overweight items
• Print and attach baggage tags Give passengers their boarding passes and any other information they require
• Organise for passengers' seats to be changed or special meals to be provided
• Find out if there are any passengers on incoming aircraft who have special requirements, such as unaccompanied minors, and look after them when the flight lands
• Meet aircraft and make sure all passengers disembark
• Prepare flights for departure by liaising with flight attendants, caterers and cleaners
• Check boarding passes
• Trace lost baggage
• Work in airline customer lounges

Tre and Teresa, both graduates of New Zealand School of Tourism, work at Auckland Airport. Teresa works as a PSA/Check-in agent for Emirates and Tre is now a Lead Agent (supervisor) and co-ordinates check-in and ground services for a number of different airlines.

Check out this job advert.

Typically, the salary for a full time role would pay between $30-40,000 per annum.

There are a number of POSITION CHALLENGES as a PSA/check-in agent. This can be quite stressful!  

As well as dealing with long queues you may also be dealing with demanding or upset passengers. You are often the first person the passenger sees when they arrive at the airport. Passengers might be upset with you and the airline over a range of different issues such as cancelled or delayed flights due to weather, strikes or flights being overbooked.

Duty Manager

A duty manager is rostered at the airport for each shift and is responsible for the smooth operation of the check-in and ticketing areas. They handle any problems the customer service officers (CSOs or check-in agents) may have so they need to be a quick thinker and be able to deal with all sorts of problems – such as an unaccompanied child not being collected from a flight.

They report directly to the airport manager.

Airport Manager

The airport manager is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the airport – such as ensuring staffing levels are accurate and dealing with any crisis that may arise.

The airport manager is involved in recruiting new staff for their particular airline and maintaining a professional and efficient team.

They also ensure that the airport is operating in accordance with their company’s standards and the law.

Flight Attendant

Flight attendants work on international and domestic flights.  

A flight attendant’s main role on board an aircraft is to ensure the safety of passengers in case of an emergency.

Airlines will not employ flight attendants under the age of 18, as they will be required to serve alcohol to the passengers. Most airlines prefer to employ people who have had at least two years in a Customer Service role – such as a waiter/waitress at a restaurant, hairdressing, teaching, nursing etc.

Flight attendants are required to work shift work, including nights, weekends and holidays, and be away from home for periods of time. Therefore, having a supportive family is a benefit.

Meghan is one of our graduates on the job! Meghan is employed with Air New Zealand and featured in their adverts!

A flight attendant’s job can be incredibly exciting. You get to visit new countries and meet interesting people. You need to be able to get along with other people, and people you don’t know, as you will always have different passengers to look after and you might work with a different group of people each time you go to work.

The STARTING SALARY FOR A FLIGHT ATTENDANT, depending on which airline you work for, you can expect to be around $35,000-$45,000 per annum.

International flight attendants also receive ‘allowances’ on top of their salary for a variety of things including transportation costs when on overnight trips and meals.  The amount can vary depending on the airline and where you are staying overnight.  These allowances are usually given in a lump sum of local currency at the destination and can be spent as you wish (or saved!).

Violet and Hannah are another two superstar graduates from New Zealand School of Tourism. Both Violet and Hannah are now  flying long haul as cabin crew for Air New Zealand.

The main duty of a flight attendant, as mentioned before, is to ensure the safety of its passengers on board.

OTHER TASKS and DUTIES include:

• Greeting passengers
• Serving meals and drinks
• Safety demonstration and announcements
• Handling emergency situations – e.g. fire
• Helping ill, disabled, or frightened passengers
• Operating mechanical and safety equipment
• Checking passenger cabin and galleys before passengers board to see that all supplies, safety equipment, and food are on board and in place
• Distributing reading material, pillows, and blankets to passengers
• Taking special care of unaccompanied children.
• Checking to make sure cabin is secure for landing – e.g. seat belts fastened

Check out the advert below and pay attention to what you think are important skills, knowledge, attributes and personal presentation requirements for this role.

FORUM ACTIVITY

Create a safety demonstration announcement/ rap/poem or song! Make sure you use some of the points from the previous exercise about personal presentation, attributes skills and knowledge! If it is too difficult to create your own rap/announcement, then you can sing/recite/perform actions for the rap below.

Add your lyrics or a link to a recording in the Module discussion forum.

Watch this Virgin America video, for a little inspiration!

Virgin America Safety video (5m)

Safety demonstration rap/poem

If you want to work as a flight attendant,

You’ve got to look good, there’s no amendments.

When you wear the uniform with some pride,

You will look professional, even on the slide.

 

Personal hygiene is the key,

And a good understanding of a client’s fear.

There are many skills that you need to possess,

Got to manage your time, swim and speak French.

 

Emergency procedures; you must know,

And flexibility to go with the flow.

At 30,000 feet there’s no excuses,

For not understanding the procedures.

 

The 24-hour clock, is a must,

At 1300 its time for lunch.

The phonetic alphabet is really gnarly,

A is for alpha and c is for Charlie.

 

Understanding clients, their cultures and needs,

Makes you ready to take the lead.

We hope to work for a cool airline,

A career in tourism will be mine.

While the airport might be a popular place to work, many airlines also have a reservations department, head office and airline ticket office in the city. Let’s now look at the other locations you could be based at when working for an airline:

Reservation Agent

Based in the main centres of New Zealand, their role is to handle enquiries over the phone, and to quote fares and make reservations for travelling on the airline to both the public and travel agents. They also handle bookings for groups and for clients with special needs e.g. wheelchairs, who want to fly with your airline.

Sales Representative/Sales Agent

Sales representatives are often known as sales reps, agents or sales execs.  They are the face of the airline.  They promote any product that the company offers such as fares, packages, aircraft features etc. to travel agents and wholesalers.  They often also promote destinations because even though their main product is a seat on a plane, the passenger will only buy that seat if they are attracted to a destination for some reason.

 Their TASKS and DUTIES include

• Promoting the company’s products
• Working together with travel agencies and wholesalers
• Helping to organise trade shows and expos
• Arranging joint promotions with travel agencies

Sales Support

These people help the sales representative e.g. they assist with travel promotions such as film evenings.  They might also help organise window display material for travel agents to use and send updated information to agents on special deals or new products.

Sales Manager

In companies that have several sales execs/reps, there would be a sales manager.  Their duties include holding sales meetings, setting targets and appointing and training sales representatives.  They would also plan product launches, liaise with reservations on new products, and meet with managers of large companies to negotiate special deals

Roles in the Ticketing Department

Most airlines have a ticketing department.  This is where many tickets are issued for flights that were booked by the reservations team.  The staff here determine the fare basis, amendment dates and taxes in order to issue the ticket (mostly an e-ticket). This is also where travel agents might have to email their client’s tickets to be reissued, validated or refunded.

The staff in the ticketing department; handle all of these responsibilities and also issue vouchers and documentation for holiday packages sold by their own agencies.

Coach companies consist of

• Tour Operators and;
• Express Coach companies
   

Coach Drivers

Tour coach drivers are an important part of the transport sector of the tourism industry.  Drivers may transport passengers for short- or long-haul trips both here in New Zealand and or overseas.  Tours vary in duration and can be anything from a day trip up to something like the Contiki Europe tour that lasts 45days.

Drivers must follow predetermined itineraries arranged by the tour company but they may also make unscheduled stops if requested by tour guides, since drivers serve at the convenience of the tour group.  Drivers are responsible for the safety of the passengers and must observe all traffic laws and must also inspect the coach for safety and ensure that maintenance is performed at scheduled intervals.

Coach drivers must have a clean driving record and a commercial license to drive a large vehicle as they must be able to handle a 45-foot bus and lift luggage weighing up to 23kgs.

As you can imagine, fatigue is a major safety factor among all drivers, who must stay alert and aware of their limits.

Some tour companies will use the coach driver to give the commentary and act as a tour guide as well.  This role can attract an average salary of between $40-60,000 annually obviously depending on the company and the nature of the tours

Tour Manager

Tour managers play a really important role in the tourism industry.  They can leave a really positive impression about the country they represent, and the company they work for.

Tour managers go by a variety of titles e.g. tour escorts, tour directors, tour guides, tour conductor, tour leader and tour manager.

Tour managing positions can range from driving, guiding and cooking for a week long camping trip, through to a tour escort who travels for four weeks or more around Europe assisted by a driver with meals and local sightseeing provided by local operators.

A tour manager is firstly a leader. They make sure the tour runs smoothly and, by creating an enthusiastic and positive atmosphere, they inspire the group to follow their example.

The tour manager must unite the tour into a social family, always keeping in mind that many people travel with a tour group because they are travelling solo and want to share experiences with newly made friends. 

Most importantly, the tour guide represents the company for whom they work. It is essential to note that when working in any field, it is vital to uphold company image with appropriate etiquette (which is the way you behave) and in the way you are dressed.

A tour manager is a mind reader.  He/she must evaluate, and sometimes guess what their group is thinking. He/she must make sure everyone is enjoying themselves.  A tour manager who is unaware that his/her group is dissatisfied, and discovers the problem too late, may return home with a very bitter and unhappy group.

A tour manager is a FRIEND to those they like and dislike.

Let’s check out a Contiki European road trip which demonstrates a tour manager in action.  This clip is a bit different as the tour participants are some of the world’s most well-known YouTubers – so throughout the road trip and video, they are creating videos of their Contiki experience which they’ll upload to YouTube

Typically, the salary for a full time role would pay between $44-66,000 per annum.

Above is a job description for a tour manager with Contiki – Contiki run tours around Europe aimed at 18 – 35 year olds. 

A coach company does not just employ the coach driver and tour manager! There are a lot of behind-the-scenes staff who are equally as important!

Customer Service Officer

Customer service officers for a coach company (also used in the hotel airline sectors of the industry) usually work in the head office as opposed to on the road like the tour managers and coach drivers. 

A customer service officer (CSO) for either a tour operator or an express coach company would usually take enquiries over the phone. Their other tasks and duties would include checking availability on the coaches, making reservations for the public and travel consultants, monitoring the load for each departure and issuing tickets and documentation.  The average starting salary for this type of role is between $35-45,000 per annum.

Sales Department

The coach part of the transportation sector also has sales departments including positions we have already spoken about such as sales managers, sales support and sales representatives.

Rental cars and campervans also play an important role in tourism.  Many business people will fly to a city and hire a rental car and tourists visiting a country on holiday will often choose to rent a car or campervan so that they can enjoy the flexibility this form of transportation offers.

Customer Service Agent/Representative

These people are known by a variety of titles depending on the company they work for. What do they do?  Let’s look at their TASKS and DUTIES.

• Greet passengers at the office, airport, ferry terminal and hotels
• Fill out hire contracts and rent out vehicles
• Complete quotes
• Daily banking
• Maintain the counter
• Prepare daily reports and compare their figures with other companies
• Answer questions about local sightseeing

Sometimes, if working at the airports, they can operate a dual role and take on some of the tasks and duties of the valet role too, depending on big and busy the depot is. 

These people would work shifts and weekends and typically stay in their job approximately two or more years.  A starting salary (depending on age and experience) would be $30 - $40,000

Amber is a graduate of New Zealand School of Tourism and completed her qualification with an internship at Thrifty Car Rental as a CSA in Queenstown.  In just one year, Amber moved up to the position of Manager at Hertz Car Rental Rotorua!

Rervations Consultant

The ‘Reservations’ department would be located at a central office.  A reservations consultant would take the bookings over the phone, or by email. 

Vehicle Service Representative/Valet/Cleaner

This can be a great starting position in rental car companies – especially in the summer.  If you wanted to become a customer service representative, you might start off in this position for 6 – 12 months.

Duty Manager/Supervisor

There would be one of these people working on each shift and they would be responsible for making sure everything runs smoothly.

Branch Manager

This person is in charge of the branch office and reports to the Regional Manager who reports to the General Manager.

Working as part of the crew on a cruise ship is a wonderful, exciting way to travel the world. Job opportunities on cruise ships are growing as the demand for cruising increases.  The largest ships carry around 3,000–6,000 passengers and require a crew: passenger ratio of about one to two passengers.  This means that on a cruise ship with around 2,000 passengers, you will find around 1,000 crew members.  There are a huge variety of jobs available on a cruise ship.

Working for a ferry company is a little different to a cruise company but similar skills and attributes are required.  Even though the vessels sail from A to B rather than follow an itinerary, or sail on a tour over shorter distances, their passengers still require looking after.

Our graduate Gemma is now working for the ferry company Southern Discoveries!

Customer Service Officer (CSO)

Whilst you find customer service officers (CSOs) at the airport and at coach companies, you also find them at other ports such as cruise line and ferry terminals.

Tasks and duties:

• Check passengers on to ferries
• Check-in and direct vehicles on to ferries
• Check passengers' passports and hand out customs documents
• Check customers' baggage complies with dangerous goods restrictions
• Hand out tickets/boarding passes and any other information passengers require
• Meet ferry and make sure all passengers disembark
• Provide customer support during sailing disruptions
• Trace lost baggage

Check out the following job advert.

Typically, the salary for a full time role would pay between $30-40,000 per annum.