Hire an airline employee. Your business won’t regret it.

The recruiter half-laughed and said, “Airlines are a necessary evil. Who wants to hire the guy that made them pay $30 to check a bag? Am I right?” I could taste his resentment over the phone. What was stranger yet? His reaction wasn’t so unusual. In fact, it was becoming a bit of a theme. After talking to a few industry comrades, I wasn’t the only one who had noticed that there seemed to be a permeating distaste for airline employees, as if hiring us was an alignment with some kind of dark force. It caught all of us off-guard.

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Like many others in aviation, I had no intention of exiting the industry, at least not yet. When and if that day came, I’d exit on my terms, trading in my wings to embark on a different adventure. But I’ve now been given a firm ultimatum by the reality of my unexpected unemployment: take what I’ve learned and apply it elsewhere or wait it out, sans paycheck. The time frame on waiting it out? Unclear.

Even if a career pivot wasn’t my original plan, the cards were dealt and the thought of branching out was becoming more enticing. So, I sat down with a cup of tea and thought hard about what I’d learned from working in the airlines. There was a lot to consider because our job titles really are just suggestions; a loose framework that hardly accounts for the many hats we wear. While public sentiment about airlines is understandably mixed, I came to one conclusion I am absolutely sure of: hiring from our ranks is one of the smartest investments a company can make.

There are many others that are, or will soon be in the same situation I am in. In hoping to help them avoid conversations like the one I had, I’ve assembled the top 3 reasons why hiring from the aviation industry just makes plane sense. Come on, I’m allowed one corny airplane joke, right?

Airlines are evolutionary lifestyle brands.

Airlines are like CPG, technology, hospitality, and management companies all rolled into one and we work cross-commercially all the time. Why? Because aviation isn’t as simple as selling a ticket. In marketing alone, we must harvest demand, build sustainably segmented databases, encourage lifetime loyalty, offer relevant ancillaries, and shape a likable, durable brand. That list could easily continue, and that’s just some of the day-to-day for one small team working as part of a much larger matrix. While we’d love to chalk our successes up to our self-declared brilliance, the truth is that we’ve been taking hints from other industries all along. Whether you’re in FinTech or floristry, we’ve probably looked at some element of your business to learn how to better our own. We’ve become better, more knowledgeable strategists for it. From day one, airline employees have understood that being stagnant is the fastest way to obsolescence.

Aviation is highly regulated, from maintenance to advertising.

Strict oversight ensures that caution and compliance are the driving factors in how we make decisions and problem solve. We’re thorough, not just because it’s in our good nature, but because the legal, social, and economic implications of a mistake could be tremendously costly, whether in dollars paid or lives lost. In marketing, I’ve created, managed, and led cross-divisional teams and agency partnerships worldwide and have ensured due diligence at every step. It’s this kind of careful coordination that allows airline employees to make sound decisions and thrive under pressure. We find compliant, yet creative ways to navigate each and every problem, turning threats into opportunities on the regular.

Profits hinge on razor-thin margins.

Even in the best of times, airline profitability and tight margins are intrinsically linked. One of the largest costs incurred in the business is also one of its most variable: fuel. Because of this, airline employees become hyperaware of their spending and do so wisely and selectively. The credo of any airline employee has included or been shaped by aggressive KPI and ROI targets. In the campaigns I’ve run, ranging from $10,000 to $10 million in spend, attention on efficiently delivering measurable, meaningful results and making data-driven decisions were consistent top priorities. Airline employees know, from product development to supply chain, that matching fiscal responsibility to performance is vital for survival.

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The bottom line:

Commercial aviation has changed and the pandemic has left many of us jobless, furloughed, or with reduced pay. Some people ran for the exits with enticing packages, others were lucky to escape with their dignity. Nearly all who are impacted, though, have asked (or will soon ask) themselves if it’s time to leave this dazzling, dizzying industry behind.

For those who do leave, should their CV/resume find its way to you, I implore you to consider it. I urge you to think about the complexities airline employees in every department face on a daily basis, in clear weather and in crisis. The pressure of our industry has afforded us invaluable experience – we’re a versatile, hearty bunch of hard-working individuals. The skills we’ve acquired from our time in this fast-paced industry have undoubtedly set us up for success in another, perhaps even yours.

The truth is this: there isn’t enough room in aviation for all of us right now. That’s good news for other industries that are eager to evolve, ready to hire, and want to take their growth to new heights. Okay, sorry, two bad jokes.