Airline Dispatcher Position

[Mackam]

Good evening everyone. Hope all is good and well. I am wondering if someone could help me with query i have as having no luck trying to find out information regarding airline dispatcher in the aviation industry. I am working in the construction industry at the moment as a Appointed Person for Lifting Operations however i am getting fed up with it and looking for a new change and fresh start for my career. Does anyone know how i could get into this or books i could read to give me a insight into what is required for this post. Any advice at all would be massivley appreciated so i can start looking into it. Many thanks everyone and all the best.

Regards
Keith:ok:

[Cirrus666]

Hi Keith,

I am in the same boat as you at the moment, looking to get into the ops/dispatch side of the industry. I have just started a distance learning course with Avtech2000.co.uk who cover Aviation Foundation, Operations, Dispatch, Economics & Manangement. I have to say I am really enjoying it so far and it leards to City and Guilds qualifications. Like you I'm just trying this to get a foot in the door.

Good luck!

[G-DUDE]

Dear Mackam

The best way that I found to get into Dispatching was working my way up. I got a job as Ramp Agent (baggage handler) for a few years, then went to check in for six months (although didnt like that) then into Dispatch/load control for years!!!

Have a look on websites such as aviationjobsearch.com and the recruitmentplace.com. Menzies Aviation are always looking for people through the recruitment place and depending on how desperate they are you might be able to walk straight into a TCO job (turnaround Coordinator) this job is coordinating everything for a safe on time departure like a dispatcher!! Depending on which company you end up working for depends on how much you learn/do with regards to weight and balance of the aircraft and loading instruction reports (where to load bags and freight or pallets and bins on the big boys!/load sheet production (final wights for flt deck and trim settings)

If you google Aircraft Dispatcher/Load Controller/Turnaround Coordinator you will be able to read up on what they do (saves buying any books)..... if you are really keen google avtech2000 and they offer city & guilds courses in aviation foundation studies and then more job specific advanced stuff.

I wouldnt really bother with expensive advertised courses as personally I dont think they are of any benefit.... A willingness to learn and work hard will be a good start for you!

The money is not what it used to be and again depending on which company you work for a TCO/Dispatcher down south would earn between £18,000 - £29,000 (£29K job is with the knob with a beard's airline!!) if you can get in... but they like a lot of experience) Remember if you work for the likes of Menzies on £18.000K a year you get the training you want and can go elsewhere with experience in a few years.

I hope this helps

Krgds
Dude

[desertopsguy]

Mackam...

What do you mean by 'dispatcher'? The term is used a bit differently in the UK than elsewhere and could refer to 2 jobs that are distinctly different. The term in the UK is the guy who is out walking the ramp in all weather doing load sheet, pushback and everything else concerned with turning an aircraft around.

In most parts of the world however 'dispatcher', more commonly known as 'fligh dispatcher' is the one who plans the flight from start to finish. This includes weather briefing, route analyses, fuel planning, liaising with air traffic control, aircraft performance calculations and that is just a small part of it. It is an interesting job and there is no limit to how deep you can go with regard to learning the various aspects.


There are no real books as such for ramp dispatch as it mostly in house training and OJT.

Flight dispatch, there are not many definitive texts exclusively for it either but there are certain books that are used for pilot training that double up as excellent references but you would need to know where to pull out as some of these texts go beyond what you might need to know.

Am happy to provide some titles if you wish, just let me know.

All the best,

D.O.G

[Mackam]

Many thanks for the information everyone i will sit down over the weekend and look at the websites you have gave me it is very much appreciated. I am definately keen on it and have no problems starting from the bottom and working my way up as i can gain experience as i go and think that is better as gives good insight. Deserttopdog yeah i would like to eventually go and do the full job of calculating fuel and weights etc but understand i need experience at the moment so if you could give me some names as quoted that would be great if you could. I think i will try for the turnaround co ordinator at first then go from there i going to contact menzies and send my cv. Once again many thanks for the help and advice.

Regards
Keith:D

[azmalzea]

hey there, even i am interested in doing the airline operations and dispatch course from avtech 2000. but my concern is that does the course really lead to a city and guilds qualification? i had dropped in a querry to the city and guilds to confirm the same and they replied that they are not offering any such qualification. do you have any confirmation that the course will definitely get you a c and g qualification? your answer may help me in making a decision as well. requesting a reply asap. thanks.

[Cirrus666]

You have mail.

[walterthesofty]

Id look into it carefully the salaries in the aviation industry are generally poor, the only groups who appear to be well paid are flight crew ATC and licensed engineers