Its not what you know, its who you know!
 

Does anyone know how to make the right contacts in the airline/aviation industry so as you can have more doors opened for you?

It's the industry's best kept secret. Send me £100 and I'll tell you all about it . . .

Seriously though, it's not rocket science - during your training you will meet scores, make that hundreds of people. Fellow students, PPLs, instructors, CFIs, examiners, ops staff, etc etc. Some of them you might keep in touch with. If at all times you act professionally and come across as someone they would like to share a flightdeck with for 8 hours a day, they will remember. If you act like an idiot, people will remember that as well. Cultivate and value those relationships.

Years later, come the day you qualify and start looking for jobs, someone will have a mate who knows a bloke. Even if they don't directly get you interviews, those kind of contacts can help with tips, hints, advice and inside information - the sort of thing that can give you the edge in interviews and sim assessments.

Never, ever forget that this industry is a phenomenally small world. Simply getting on well with people can open doors like you wouldn't believe. Pissing people off can come back to haunt you.

It's very easy to get to know those at the top of the industry, my flight instructor alone was friends with the Director of Jet2 and Thomson as well as one of the senior guys in CTC.

It's not hard to meet these guys, you just need to earn their respect and show that you put 110% into your flying.

Where did you train?