Tag Archives: Aviation Business Administration

Business Capstone Class Simulation

Posted on by
Reply

What would be your first impression of a class which starts with the following lines on the syllabus: “In this class, you will be running your own company as part of a student team. You will be stressed, confused, mad and frustrated. You will make mistakes. You will also have a lot of fun”? You would probably feel scared right?

This syllabus excerpt is from the Strategic Management class. If you are a student with a Business major, you will have to take this class during your last semester at Embry-Riddle.

As stated above, we are running our own company as part of a computer simulation. Our class is evenly divided in six groups, so my group and I compete against five other teams. In the simulation, we create and sell a product. We have to manage many aspects of our company, such as research and development, production, marketing, finance and human resources.

We are currently in the second practice round. There are a total of three practice rounds before things get real. Even though it’s only practice, we put effort and hard work because we want to learn as much as we can before the simulation starts and we get graded on performance. Our group meets on a weekly basis to take decisions for the company that will be applied for the following round. Every round corresponds to a new calendar year.

Even though we just started the simulation, I am very excited about it and I hope to finish high in the ranking! I will give an update later on how our company is evolving.

Another Simulation!
I’m doing a simulation in another class this semester! This one is in Aviation Labor Relations where the class is a mix of lectures and the simulation. This simulation is not done on the computer but rather during class time.

Let me briefly explain how it works. All the students enrolled in the course work for an airline named “Blue Star Airlines,” based in Daytona Beach. Students can work in the management team, as a pilot, as a ramp worker or as a mechanic. For the main purpose of the class, there are also other positions related to unions, such as an ALPA (Air Line Pilots Association) representative and a IAM (International Association of Machinists) representative.

I “work” in the management team as Supervisor of Ramp Operations. I selected this position because I have always been interested in airline/airport operations.

There are many issues we have to deal with. In the past week, one of my ramp workers was injured while working on the ramp. This week, there were concerns about pilot duty time FAA violations. Next week, we will have a vote on whether each department of the company wants to join/form a union.

I think simulations are fun and a different way of learning the course material. It’s great to do something else than listening to class lectures for a whole semester. And you, have you taken a class before that involved some sort of simulation?

Until next time!

Nicolas

How do Airlines Evaluate New Routes?

Posted on by
Reply

Airlines are constantly looking to grow their route network. They do multiple evaluations in order to know if a route will be profitable in the long term or not. Airlines use many programs and tools such as Diio to perform a route study. Diio is an aviation business intelligence data that is used by more than 400 airlines in the world.

Route Map from Air Canada's largest hub, Toronto-Pearson.

Route Map from Air Canada’s largest hub, Toronto-Pearson.

Diio collects data such as fares, routes, airlines, and connections. Airlines using Diio can determine how many passengers are traveling each day (including connections) between Daytona Beach and New York-JFK for example. There is only one daily flight between DAB and JFK (operated by JetBlue) but passengers also travel on other airlines between these two cities. You might have a passenger that has a frequent flyer status with American Airlines and will decide to fly on American with a connection in Charlotte. From a large collection of database, airlines can see the city in which each passenger connected, the airline they flew on, and the average fare they paid for the leg.

An airline will definitely not start a route and fly a Boeing 777 where there are only a few passengers traveling every day between point A and B. It would simply not make any sense to operate an aircraft of such capacity.

Airlines can predict revenue and profitability of a route depending on different times of the day. If the flight is scheduled at a time of the day where there are no possibility of connections to other cities, than the airline might not do as good as a flight that is timed for inbound and outbound connections.

I hope you learned a little more on airlines today!

Until next time,

Nicolas

Contact the author at berniern@my.erau.edu

The Journey Begins

Posted on by
Reply
Hello there!
My name is Jack Harty, and I am a first year student in the Aviation Business Administration program in Embry-Riddle’s College of Business (COB). I am from Houston, Texas, and like my fellow students, I am very passionate about aviation.
I caught the aviation bug while flying about 16 years ago, and ERAU has10670056_599294093530215_28090309397519307_n been on my family’s radar for more than a decade. My ultimate career goal is to hold a high leadership position at an airline, and attending ERAU to study the “Business of Flight” was a no brainer.
Getting to where I am now was no easy task; it was road block after road block, but thankfully, things ended up working out. I sincerely appreciate all of my admissions counselors as well as advisors help, and they will be a great asset to you; they want to see you succeed and attend ERAU.
Now, I am quickly approaching the end of my first semester of college, and to say the absolute least, it has been a crazy ride.
College is very different from high school, especially since 10541812_575043562621935_5514735598720086369_nyou do not go to all of your classes everyday. The work load is different as well; sometimes it feels like there is no homework, but one should always study as many of the tests are very comprehensive. Additionally, it is a big change as for many this is the first time that they are living independently. There is a lot of freedom in college.
Looking back, it is hard to believe that I am in college, and I cannot imagine what doors will be opened over the next few years. In the meantime, keep checking back as I continue to share my experience and hopefully some helpful information.
Blue skies,
Jack

Goodbye island life

Posted on by
Reply

This is probably the only blog from an Embry-Riddle student who started two first days at this University, 5 years apart.

Sometimes it’s hard to imagine that one year ago, I was a Key West trolley tour guide.  I entertained tourists with facts of the island and repeated the same corny jokes to them every day, sometimes with a few originals.  Chances are good that if you visited Key West and rode on an orange and green trolley over the past year, I was your bus driver and guide.  I also drove the Key West haunted tours, a type of meet and greet with Key West characters like Robert the doll as well as the other types of spirits….not necessarily the ones found in haunted houses.  I found myself living on the island by accident.  I went to be a dog sitter for two weeks and ended staying almost a year!  You might say I caught what the locals call the “Keys Disease” and it’s hard to resist.  People come for a visit but never leave.  It’s said on the island that if you show up to work every day, you have a job.  If two weeks later you’re still showing up on time, they’ll make you the manager.  Well, sure enough, the dog left town with its owner and I stayed.  As well as being a tour guide, I worked other side jobs such as newspaper delivery boy, bakeshop dishwasher, and event security (a.k.a. bouncer).

The island life was a relaxing and good one.  It is hard to resist the sunniest place in Florida with the least amount of rain.  It ‘s truly Paradise except, endless renditions of Jimmy Buffett songs blaring down from Duval Street.  One day I woke up with one more hangover and realized I wasn’t moving forward with my life.  It was time for me to progress forward on my flight plan for life.

This was the culmination of a restlessness that I tried to resolve, and it brought me through many different experiences.  These included several semesters at a state university, a shopkeeper in South Beach, and an unpaid Internship for Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in DC.  This was right after I withdrew myself from Embry Riddle; I wanted to try something different in life. But my passions drew me back.

On August 27, 2012, my second first day of college began.  Once again excited to be making progress, living in campus dorms, and starting from where I had left off, but more focused on my degree: Aviation Business Administration.  In one week, I will be curing my desires, dusting off the backpack and train hopping across Europe to appease my wandering soul.  In one month, I will be attending classes with the Study Abroad program in Berlin, and in one year, I will be an Embry-Riddle alumnus. It’s a long way from the old island life, and it feels great!