Talkshow Unlocking the Aviation Industry on the Ground with Qatar Airways

On March 22, at the 6th-floor Hall, the HUFLIT External Relations Office collaborated with “Qatar Airways Vietnam” to organize the talkshow “Work Environment at Qatar Airways Vietnam” to help HUFLIT students better understand the culture and current departments at the airline, thereby helping them gain orientation and a deeper understanding of the multinational enterprise. The program, part of the HUFLIT CAREER TALKS 2022 series, attracted the enthusiastic participation of over 700 HUFLIT students.

When mentioning the Aviation industry, most of you will think of frequently mentioned positions such as “Pilots or Flight Attendants”, but few know about the structure of ground departments, where flights are operated, handled, supported, and more. Realizing that this is an opportunity to help HUFLIT students acquire more knowledge about this field as well as understand the culture of a multinational enterprise, the External Relations Office cooperated with Qatar Airways Vietnam to organize the talkshow “Work Environment at Qatar Airways”.

At the talkshow, the speakers were senior figures holding high-level positions in the ground departments of the airline, including: Ms. Vu Thi Thanh Huong – Country Manager of Qatar Airways in Vietnam and Cambodia; Ms. Au Nhu Y – Representative of the Ticketing and Customer Service Department; Mr. Tran Manh Hieu – Representative of the Cargo Operations Department; Mr. Nguyen Chinh Chung – Representative of Qatar Airways at the Airport; Mr. Khac Luc Nguyen – Representative of Qatar Airways at the Airport.

THE SCALE OF THE GROUND AVIATION INDUSTRY AT QATAR AIRWAYS IS LARGER THAN YOU THINK

At Qatar Airways or any airline or multinational corporation, what you can easily see is that their departmental and divisional structure is broken down into many small, complex segments in order to manage and operate effectively. For Qatar Airways, the main departmental structure is divided into 3: Commercial, Cargo, and Airport Operations, and beneath these departments, there are smaller individual departments.

Commercial Department Structure

The Commercial department consists of divisions such as Sales, Marketing, and Reservation and Ticketing. The shared objective of these departments is to be responsible for executing, implementing, and operating commercial-related activities, generating revenue for the airline. For instance, the Sales department is responsible for working with agency partners and providing customer service, creating a solid bridge and a wonderful experience for customers. Conversely, the Marketing department is responsible for activities related to executing communication campaigns for the airline targeting potential customer groups, thereby turning them into potential customers and building brand awareness in the market. Finally, Reservation and Ticketing, also known as Airline Reservation Agent, is responsible for assisting, preparing vacation plans, and handling tasks related to booking and holding reservations for customers.

Cargo Department Structure

Next is the Cargo department, which is divided into two branches: Sales and Operation. The term Cargo is quite novel; it is a specialized term in the aviation field, which can be simply understood as the transportation of goods between shipments, orders, and freight. At Qatar Airways, cargo is categorized as follows: General Cargo; Pharmaceutical; Fresh Fruit & Vegetable; Live Animals – transporting live animals such as dogs, cats, elephants, lions, monkeys, etc.; Charter – private jets for customer groups with high-end resort needs or needs related to business activities, events, etc.

Currently, for the Cargo department, Qatar Airways has a total of 77 destinations transporting the aforementioned types of goods. Along with that are the airline’s signature cargo aircraft, such as: 02 Boeing B747-8 Freighters, 02 Boeing B747-400 Freighters, 26 Boeing B777 Freighters, 48 Boeing 777-300ERs.

Qatar Airways Airport Operations Structure

Usually, when mentioning an airline, sub-branches like cabin crew, airport services, etc., often come to mind. But that is only a small part; in full, it follows a sequence where each position holds an important role in operating a flight. At Qatar Airways, besides the Cabin Crew who accompany passengers on flights, there is the Ground Service department, which is responsible for tasks related to check-in and processing procedures for passengers before boarding the plane. Additionally, Aircraft Maintenance is an equally important department in maintaining and repairing aircraft after continuous takeoffs and landings. After each flight, a large amount of fuel needs to be loaded so the aircraft can operate at its best; the Fuels department supplies a large amount of fuel to support and service the flight. Finally, when flying, do you often pay attention to where the food served on the plane comes from? Do you ever wonder if this food is provided by the airline’s supplier? Of course, this will be decoded in this article: the final department of an airport operations structure, which provides a large reserve of food to serve passengers on flights – Catering. Each airline has its own department of this kind without the intervention or supply of third parties to ensure food quality and the culture of each airline.

Attending the talkshow, students had the opportunity to participate in a mock interview with 5 guest speakers. During this, they were asked questions related to customer handling scenarios or industry-specific questions, such as whether they would accept working through the Tet holidays, as well as their aspirations and expectations when working at Qatar Airways. Most students felt excited about participating in the mock interview because they knew what skills they needed to hone when applying to Qatar Airways. This is truly an opportunity to help students gain new perspectives on a multinational corporation, understand a new field, and thereby help students equip themselves with the preparation needed for their future career steps.