Working in ground operations (Sydney)

[Mick F]

Which airline Tara?

[Nigel C]

It's Aerocare Mick, so she could be at either international or domestic serving any number of airlines, maybe even DHL freight?

[Mick F]

True, I just thought they may have given her some indication which airline she'll be specifically dealing with.

I don't believe they move them around, because we always have the same Aerocare staff working with us.

Mick

[Robert.M]

Congratulations Tara!

[Tara S]

Hey,

Thank you for the congratulations! I can't wait to get started.

I will be hearing from Aero-care any day now about my rosta for the coming week. I know they deal with lots of different airlines which is awesome because that means lots of different aircraft type too!

I didn't actually know they tend to stick you with a particular airline. I wasn't sure if maybe for a whole week I might be working for virgin and then the next for Qantas. I'm still feeling my way around and figuring out how all this works.

If anyone has any experiences or information please share..

Tara

[Rowan McKeever]

Hey Tara! Congrats on the new job, very happy for you This is a fab industry to work in & I'm totally jealous that your job is hands-on, because sadly mine isn't!

I don't believe Qantas uses Aerocare at SYD, and there are several international carriers who use QF for their ground handling. But you'll probably get to work with VA, JQ & some of the other internationals. I can believe they would keep people on specific airlines so they can be more familiar with aircraft types, operational requirements, etc.

Good luck & enjoy!

[Mick F]

I certainly don't know the exact ins and outs of how Aerocare allocate their staff, but I know that I consistently deal with the same staff all the time.

International probably deal with multiple airlines, but domestic is most likely only one.

And Qantas don't utilise Aerocare Tara.

Mick

[Michael Morrison]

Congrats on the job with Aerocare! I worked with them when I was starting my aviation career and since then I've gone on to work with Virgin Atlantic and EasyJet directly here in Europe. Working for a ground handler is a good way to get a foot in the door. Other people I worked with have also gone on to work with Virgin Australia and Qantas directly as well.

[Tara S]

Thank you Rowen for the kind words.

Ah I didn't know Qantas didn't use Aerocare at SYD, probably explains QF though. It says on Aerocares website that they service this airline but that must be at other hubs. Qantas are obviously more inclined to use their own ground handling service than that of others. I don't blame them, I'd do the exact same thing.

Rowen, do you currently work in the industry? If so, what do you do?

I have a couple of questions if anyone can answer. Is there much difference between working as ramp crew for an airline directly and working for a ground handling company?

I kind of assumed the hourly pay rate would be less working for Aerocare than say QF as the airline would have to pay Aerocare first then they take a cut of your hourly rate? Does this make sense or am I talking nonsense here?

Also why does everyone seem to start on casual in this role? It seems the go right across the board. I ticked the 'full time' box on my application and mentioned it in the interview and they seemed to assure me that eventually I'll get up to full time hours and maybe more if I'm really keen (which I will be by the way). With 6 weeks training to do I'll only be doing around 25 hrs per week. Maybe the faster I pick things up the more skills I'll Aquire and the more hours I'll work?

I'm taking a massive leap here to do something I'm so passionate about. I currently work as a vehicle spray painter and earn a good salary working 43 hours a week (average). Surely anyone coming into this industry would expect to be working full time (38 hrs) otherwise it can be hard to get by.

Tara

[Tara S]

Thank you Michael,

That's interesting most people go on to work directly for airlines. Getting my foot in the door is exactly what I needed and it seems i'v absolutely done the right thing here.

I'd imagine working for an airline you get all the cheap flight benefits too and probably earn a slightly higher hourly rate.

What do you do in the industry?

Tara