Competition in the Business Aviation
It’s a job that many people wants.
And it’s a job that is hard to get.
I am talking about Business Aviation and Private Jets!
To be aware of the potential competition out there is a good starting point.
And yes, I am talking for both pilots and flight attendants!
Mors tua, vita mea
This is a latin expression that means that your death allows me to live.
It refers to the gladiators fighting in the arena, where if one killed the competitor, he had one more day to live.
Translated into this industry, if you fail on getting a job, I have one more chance to try to get what was meant to be yours.
Unfortunately this is quite common, and takes different levels.
From a healthy, growing-oriented competition to a pure sabotage.
True story
For example, a long time ago I was freelancing for the first time for an owner.
Single flight attendant operation, I was alone in the cabin.
This was a freelance and test flight at the same time, because they were actively searching for a second flight attendant to help with the operations.
Therefore, it was important for me to make a good impression!
I got the phone number of the regular flight attendant to receive a sort of a briefing about the family and specifics about the jet and the flight.
The departure was early morning and I asked her if she thought it was a good idea to prepare a bed for the child to let him sleep a bit longer.
Very authoritatively, she said to me “Don’t prepare any beds. No need to do so. They are early birds, they won’t sleep any longer”.
She almost asked me to promise her I wouldn’t have done any beds.
Of course I trusted her, she knew the family and their habits she had been working with the famly for 5 years or something like that.
But in the back of my head I felt suspicious about the tone of the command.
I told myself “This is strange…. Departure is at 5 am and the flight time is 4 hours! And the child is only 4 years old.
What if she said that to damage my flight and create the conditions for a bad impression with the owner so they won’t call me anymore?”
Well, guess what!
It ended up that the first thing the customers asked me when they came on board was “Where is the bed for Tom?”
Trust your instinct
This was a clear example of “mors tua, vita mea”.
I understand she wanted to kinda protect her territory by avoiding any other competitor to damage her position or put it in danger.
Although I didn’t prepare the bed as I would have done per standard, I still took the equipment I needed and kept it ready to make the bed very quickly, just in case.
And this is what I did.
After take off, I prepared the divan for the little boy, who slept peacefully for 3 hours.
The test flight went well, they were happy abut me and I flew with them for another year and half.
As you can see, if you trust your gut feelings and be ready for anything, you can’t go wrong.
Last but not least, remember that where there is quality, there is no competition.
Try to reach the level of quality that you think is appropriate for you and your professional profile.
Work on your goals and keep on going.
No need to get mad or fight when you realised you’ve been sabotaged… it’s human nature and this behaviour speaks loud.
And yes: what goes around comes around!