This week, Kazimieras Simonavičius University (KSU) and the Civil Aviation Association (CAVIA) signed a cooperation agreement to promote cooperation between higher education and aviation professionals to improve the quality of training for aviation management specialists.

Both organizations agreed to cooperate in the areas of joint expert research, sharing good practices, improving the training of students of the aviation management study program, transferring practical experience to the study process, developing advanced forms of mutual scientific and practical cooperation, organizing conferences, seminars, courses and other events in aviation management, development of aviation services, aircraft maintenance.

 “Today, as the aviation industry undergoes significant changes, it is critical for Aviation Management students to see from the inside how aviation professionals are tackling emerging issues and challenges. Cooperation with a strong association of aviation professionals provides excellent opportunities for students to improve by gaining practical experience and knowledge, and for aviation professionals to contribute to better preparation of future colleagues, to share experiences. Such cooperation between industry and education sector can also stimulate the implementation of new ideas and solutions in the recovery of aviation after the restrictions caused by the pandemic, thus contributing to the country’s prosperity, as aviation is an important part of the state’s social and economic life”, says Assoc. Prof. Dr. Konstantinos Kalligiannis, Head of KSU Aviation Management study programme .

Artūras Stankevičius, President of the Civil Aviation Association, says “We are very pleased with the new partnership with Kazimieras Simonavičius University. The cooperation agreement, so to speak, is symbolic at this difficult time for the entire aviation industry, and showing that the desired positive results can be achieved only by uniting and working together. I believe that joint activities and dissemination of information about aviation will stimulate young people’s interest in this industry and create added value for the entire Lithuanian aviation sector. “

Kazimieras Simonavičius University is the only university in Lithuania conducting bachelor’s studies in Aviation Management. KSU has been training highly qualified aviation management specialists for past 7 years. The core teaching team of the program, consists of highly experienced and recognized aviation professionals from around the world. Aviation management studies are carried out in both the usual full-time and full-time (distance) online study forms.

The Civil Aviation Association (CAVIA) currently brings together 11 companies involved in private aviation activities and business: airlines “Get Jet”, “DAT”, “Global Airways” and “Charter Jets”, aircraft and passenger service companies “Litcargus” and “Aircraft Service Agency”, the aircraft maintenance organization “KAMS”, the food supply company “Global Travel Supply”, the helicopter pilot training organization “Aircraft Support and Training Europe”, the largest Duty Free / Travel Value concept store operator at Lithuanian airports “Travel Retail Vilnius” and training and consulting company “Dialogus”. CAVIA seeks to organize and promote cooperation and mutual support in the air transport sector in national and international organizations.

Vladislav Kežun

Vladislav Kežun is a distance-learning bachelor’s student in Aviation Management study program and living in sunny Bangkok, where he is working in the sales department for FL Technics: MRO Aircraft Maintenance and Repair Services company for the past few years. Vladislav talks about his career in aviation and the peculiarities of this sector.

How did you decide to start your career in the aviation sector? What makes this job interesting and how did you find yourself in Bangkok?

Before working in the aviation sector, I worked in sales for a while with industrialists. However, very quickly I realized that the industrial sector in Lithuania is not very large and there are few prospects. I looked at different sectors and by chance saw an advertisement that an airline was looking for employees. My job interview took place at the Lithuanian airport, and I still remember some conversation word for word “If you have already got into aviation, it is unlikely that you will get out of it.” The words seemed fateful for me.

I have been working for the FL Technics for 4 years. Our market is very large: the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Asia, so I have been living and working in one of the company’s divisions based in Bangkok.

What does your workday look like?

If the day starts in the office in the morning, I first spend a few hours reading and replying to emails, finishing up my meetings, and getting ready for new ones.

There is no monotony in my work, I have to spend a lot of time flying for meetings with clients. My responsibility is to develop the Asian market, and of course, to make as many successful sales transactions as possible.

Do you sell aircraft parts? what amounts we are talking about and who are your buyers? In what circumstances may a buyer need, for example, an aircraft engine?

The sums are really impressive – we are talking about millions of transactions. The main customers are airlines from different countries. Aircraft engines are one of the most expensive parts of an aircraft. In terms of demand, it occurs when an old engine wears out. Airplanes are designed to last for a long time (e.g., American airplanes have a lifespan of about 30 years), but engine life is fairly perpetual, much like a car’s engine condition is determined by mileage. Therefore, the engines need to be replaced or repaired after some time.

The work is fun, doing well, so what inspired you and why did you decide to start studying Aviation Management?

I studied business management at another high school, but the studies did not live up to my expectations. I studied many different disciplines, but nothing specific. When working with classic sales, such knowledge may be sufficient, but in my case, the chosen field of aviation is very specific and such general knowledge is not enough.

The FL Technics pays a lot of attention to their staff development: I had more than 10 different types of trainings during my first year at work. Those trainings made me realize, how big the industry is and how much space is available for the growth and expansion. This probably had the biggest impact on my decision to study Aviation Management and earn a bachelor’s degree in this niche field.

How do you rate such a choice today? How do you manage to combine work with studies?

Reconciling work with studies is great, Thailand is 4 hours ahead of Lithuania, after work I can listen to all the lectures. In my studies, I highly appreciate the skills and dedication of the teachers. They are not only strong in theoretical knowledge but also practitioners, who are experts in aviation and understand the size, importance, and scale of the market. This form of study is very convenient for a working person, for example, if I have an important meeting with a client in China and I can’t miss it, so I can deliver my homework a few days later, or if I can’t attend lectures remotely “live”, I have the possibility to view the uploaded lecture later. Such understanding, convenience, and individual attention are immensely valuable.

Who would you recommend distance Aviation Management studies?

This is a very specific area, so I recommend distance learning Aviation Management studies for those who already working in the sector and have the basic knowledge to understand the subjects or the terminology. It is also better for students if they are from the same industry. Hence, they can speak the same aviation language, grow their network and share their diverse work experiences of domestic or international airlines.

Read more about Aviation Management Online Study Programme.

Since last September, Kazimieras Simonavičius University offers not only the full-time form of Aviation Management studies, but also full-time online studies. Online Studies allows lectures and consultations to be held remotely. Kazimieras Simonavičius University is the only university in Lithuania that provides Aviation Management studies onsite and online. Online learning is tailored to working people – students can study wherever they are and when they are able to.

Working in aviation requires industry-specific knowledge, both if the employee works in an administrative field or in an aircraft crew. Some employees start their work without knowing the peculiarities of the sector, so they have to deepen their knowledge not only by working, but also by studying.

Those who want to know better what online learning is, we invite to participate in the open online lecture “Aviation and COVID-19: The Path to Recovery” which is going to be held by KSU Aviation Management lecturer Assoc. Prof. Dr. Anil Padhra on the 5^th of May at 6 PM.
More information and registration:  https://bit.ly/2yVTw0e

More information about Aviation Management online studies: https://bit.ly/2WdqyRn

An open lecture, named “Aviation and COVID-19: The path to recovery”, by Dr. Anil Padhra, associate professor at Business School of Kazimieras Simonavičius University, will be held on May 5 at 18 PM.

The lecture is intended for aviation professionals, partners lecturers, students, graduates of Kazimieras Simonavičius University and for all who is interested.

Duration of the lecture – 45 min.

Anil Padhra – KSU Aviation Management bachelor’s study programme visiting associate professor for International Aviation and Aviation Finance modules, Head of Aviation at the University of West London. Anil is a Member of Royal Aeronautical Society, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

He previously held positions as a Senior Lecturer and Principal Lecturer in Aviation at universities in the UK. Anil has experience in developing and designing aviation courses for managers, commercial airline pilots and air traffic controllers. Prior to joining Higher Education, Dr. Padhra held operational roles with NATS (Air Traffic Management), easyJet airline (Operations Research) and British Airways (Aerodrome and Aircraft Performance).

Lecturer holds an Aerospace Engineering degree from the University of Liverpool, a Master’s degree in Aeronautics from Imperial College London and a PhD in Meteorology from University of Reading.

Registration will be held here up to May 4.

Kazimieras Simonavičius University is accepting applications for its Aviation Management Online Studies Programme.

Read more on it at: https://bit.ly/2Sbh9ZJ

Augustė Bajorūnaitė (KSU photo)

Augustė Bajorūnaitė has been carving the sky of the United Arab Emirates for more than four years. The work of a flight attendant takes her to the most interesting and unexpected places in the world. Since September, a new venture has appeared on Augustė’s agenda – Vilnius, Kazimieras Simonavičius University, where she started studying aviation management remotely.

How did it happen that you chose a job of a flight attendant also known as a dream profession?

I never thought of working as a flight attendant as a dream profession. I was working in the real estate sector, while browsing on Facebook, I noticed an announcement that a new crew team was being hired for United Arab Emirates airlines. I thought I would try. I didn’t set high expectations for myself; I was relaxed. Maybe that’s why I passed all the selection stages quite easily and went to Dubai as early as next week. Everything happened very quickly. Thus, began my career as a flight attendant.

What does your typical workday look like?

All days are different. The day and night have no meaning in this work, such as one morning I travel to Australia, the next morning to Dubai. If we have domestic short flight, we fly and return home, but if we have an international flight, we have 2 days off in an another city, and this is enough time to explore the new city, but lack of sleep and the so-called Jet lag sometimes is a challenge.

Also, we should always be well prepared and ready in neat uniforms, hairstyles and makeup before each flight. We can’t turn blonde to brunette overnight, such experiments with looks have to be forgotten.

Maybe you’d like to share an interesting incident that happened during flight that passengers never knew about?

There have been no serious or critical events in my practice yet. There were a few minor cases when we flew to Tanzania and found ourselves right next to a spinning whirlwind. We had to turn a few wheels before the weather changed and we could land.

There are some funny situations when dealing with passengers from different cultures. If we fly from Moscow, we have to monitor the amount of alcohol people consume. One passenger, who had multiple alcoholic drinks, slept so deeply that his awakening was only possible with the shouting of Russian army teams.

The most interesting thing is to watch the passengers flying to Mecca to perform Hajj (a pilgrimage of Muslims that takes place every year). After a certain distance to Mecca, the captain informs the passengers and people start washing and wearing religious clothes called Ihram. From that moment on, flight attendants cannot touch passengers. We also change into formal wear ourselves and thus pay our respects.

Your job is interesting but at the same time risky, maybe it influenced you to think about prospects in aviation, or changing your career direction? What prompted you to choose distance aviation management studies?

Work is really fun and engaging but not for a lifetime, it would be too hard to work in such a stressful mode. Therefore, I started thinking about what I would like to do in the future, and I realized that I really want to stay in aviation industry. I started to think about higher studies but working in such a job makes it very difficult to work and study on campus on permanent bases. I was wondering how I could manage this, but luckily, I discovered distance Aviation Management studies.

Augustė Bajorūnaitė (KSU photo)

How do you assess your choice today, is work and study compatible?

I am very happy with these studies. Firstly, because it is very easy to combine work and studies: lectures are recorded, so you can join and listen at any day and hour. Teachers are not only academics but also practitioners, which is very important because aviation is a very specific field. Co-students are also from all over the world. I recently flew to Bangkok, where I met a classmate living there and working for FL Technics, and later we met in lectures in Vilnius. The third important factor was price. Compared to the Asian and European universities I have considered, the tuition fee offered by this university was the best.

I would recommend this study program first to those who already work in the aviation sector, as it is much easier to understand all the processes that take place in aviation when you have at least a minimum basic knowledge of course, I recommend distance learning to those who have a strong determination and willpower, because there will be no professors or classmates nearby during the lectures, you have to be independent and take the responsibly for yourself.

Read more about Aviation Management Online Study Programme.

Diogenis Papiomytis

A remote lecture, named “The State of the Aviation Industry post COVID-19”, by Diogenis Papiomytis, a lecturer at Business School of Kazimieras Simonavičius University, will be held on April 20 at 5 PM. The lecture is intended for aviation professionals, partners lecturers, students and graduates of Kazimieras Simonavičius University. Duration of the lecture – 45 min.

Diogenis Papiomytis – KSU Aviation Management bachelor’s study programme visiting lecturer for International Aviation module, Senior Manager at IATA Consulting. He is an expert of industry research reports and strategy consulting projects, with clients coming from Airlines, Airports, Aircraft Manufacturing and Aviation Aftermarket segments. Lecturer has an experience in the Commercial Aviation research and consulting practice of Frost & Sullivan, a global aviation consultancy.  He previously worked in Corporate Strategy department as Corporate strategy Manager of CEO Office at Etihad Airways and as a Senior Lecturer in Aviation Studies at Buckinghamshire New University in the UK. Diogenis holds a BA (Hons) in Modern Languages and International Business, a MSc in Air Transport Management from Cranfield University and a MBA from Cass Business School at London City University.

Those wishing to take a better look at how Aviation Management online bachelor’s studies look like like, we invite to participate at KSU Assoc. Prof. Dr. Konstantinos Kalligiannis lecture on Aviation Policy. The lecture is going to be delivered online on April 1st at 8 p.m. The common situation in aviation industry due to COVID-19 is going to be discussed on the lecture as well as how it will affect Aviation Policy in the future.

This lecture is a part of Aviation Policy study module, which is delivered to Aviation Management first year students. Aviation Policy module is aimed for the students to understand how the historical background has created  the current range of national and international airline and airport policy patterns, how airlines are organised to influence and respond to Government Policy and what are the areas of policy development that may occur in the near future.

Please, register here till March 30th, and we will send you a lecture link.

The lecture will be delivered in English.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Konstantinos Kalligiannis is an internationally recognized aviation expert and consultant and the head of the Bachelor’s Degree Program in Aviation Management at Kazimieras Simonavičius University. Dr. Kalligiannis played a key role in major and challenging airport projects: the bid development for the Greek Regional Airports’ privatization (AKTOR Concessions), the National Aviation Policy & White Paper development for the Hellenic Ministry of Transport, the Airport Operations Manual (AOM) update for Pafos International Airport, Air traffic forecasts development (EC Harris) and etc. Dr. Kalligiannis delivers airport training courses for Abu Dhabi International Airport’s Gulf Center for Aviation Studies (GCAS), Sudan Airports, Holding Company, Muscat and Salalah Airports (OAMC) and Riyadh International Airport.

Since April 1st, two Aviation Management online study modules open up for external students. You can study the modules together with present KSU bachelor’s students.

Every module consists of seven online lectures, broadcasted live in the evenings, and two individual consultations.

Those who pass the module exam will be awarded with ECTS credits and a certificate of approval. Later, when student enrolling in Kazimieras Simonavičius Bachelor’s degree program in Aviation Management, the module will be credited and the tuition fee will decrease accordingly.

Modules Suggested:

• Aviation Policy

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Konstantinos Kalligiannis

6 ECTS Credits

• Cross – Cultural Management in Aviation

Lecturer Jack Romero

5 ECTS Credits

Aviation Policy

Aviation Policy module is aimed for the students to understand how the historical background has created  the current range of national and international airline and airport policy patterns, how airlines are organised to influence and respond to Government Policy and what are the areas of policy development that may occur in the near future.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Konstantinos Kalligiannis

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Konstantinos Kalligiannis is an internationally recognized aviation expert and consultant and the head of the Bachelor’s Degree Program in Aviation Management at Kazimieras Simonavičius University. Dr. Kalligiannis played a key role in major and challenging airport projects: the bid development for the Greek Regional Airports’ privatization (AKTOR Concessions), the National Aviation Policy & White Paper development for the Hellenic Ministry of Transport, the Airport Operations Manual (AOM) update for Pafos International Airport, Air traffic forecasts development (EC Harris) and others.

Dr. Kalligiannis delivers airport training courses for Abu Dhabi International Airport’s Gulf Center for Aviation Studies (GCAS), Sudan Airports, Holding Company, Muscat and Salalah Airports (OAMC) and Riyadh International Airport.

Cross – Cultural Management in Aviation

The objectives for the Cross – Cultural Management module are for the students to get familiar with the  intercultural area and how to manage all the challenges in multicultural fields. The module focuses on the impact of cultural background on individuals, organizations and management; on the dimensions which discriminate national cultures, and on cross-cultural interactions.

Jack Romero

Jack Romero has more than 15 years experience in aviation industry and aviation entrepreneurship. Currently he is a Business Mentor and University lecturer at Leeds University Business School and lecturer in Aviation Management study programme at Kazimieras Simonavicius University.

Starting in 1974 at Heathrow Airport, Jack’s company British Mediterranean Airways (BMED) became one of the most successful franchise partners of British Airways, gaining the prestigious Queen’s Award For Business Enterprise in 2004. BMED was sold to BMI (owned by Lufthansa) in 2007 for £30 million, and in 2011 British Airways bought BMI/BMED for over £175 million.

The registration closes on March 30th.

Registration to “Aviation Policy”

Registration to “Intercultural Management in Aviation Industry”

Language: English

Price: 350 Eur per module

Duration: from April 1st till May 15th (online lectures)

Module exams: will be held at the end of May – early June at Kazimieras Simonavičius University, Vilnius (due to quarantine and COVID-19 prevention, the exam may be organized online).

For more information, please contact KSU Director of Business Deimantė Žilinskienė, e-mail: deimante.zilinskiene@ksu.lt

An annual survey of Aviation Management graduates of Kazimieras Simonavičius University revealed that all graduates work in the aviation industry. Majority of the graduates started working in their specialty during their studies, the rest of them got job within a month after graduation.

Aviation Management graduates work for companies such as GetJet Airlines, Wizz Air, Avia Solutions Group, Avion Express and BGS.

These employability indicators show that Aviation Management students are well prepared for work in the aviation industry, which requires specific knowledge and skills. Graduates are successful in a variety of sectors such as aviation security, communications, sales, and human resources in wide range of companies including airports, airlines, aircraft service centres and international airlines.

Deimantė Žilinskienė, Director of Kazimieras Simonavičius University Business School said, “There are several key aspects to the proper preparation of students for employment in the aviation industry right after graduation; close cooperation with business sector, internationalization (KSU students are taught by internationally renowned aviation experts – practitioners), and a multicultural environment specific to aviation companies. We also strive for bachelor theses to be focused on real aviation organization performance and process improvement, which allows the student to have deeper understating of the industry, improve expertise, develop analytical and critical thinking”.

The Aviation Management graduate’s employment rates also reflect the fact that the demand for Aviation Management professionals in the industry is very high and, it will keep growing according to various forecasts.