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.

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.

Our new International Aviation lecturer Diogenis Papiomytis has joined to KSU team this semester. He heads the Commercial Aviation research and consulting practice of Frost & Sullivan, a global aviation consultancy. He is responsible for the delivery of industry research reports and strategy consulting projects, with clients coming from Airlines, Airports, Aircraft Manufacturing and Aviation Aftermarket segments. He previously worked in the Corporate Strategy department of c 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.

Our lecturer Diogenis Papiomytis in CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2019/03/13/boeing-issue-has-brand-implications-as-well-analyst-says.html

All students of Aviation Management are invited to participated in the competition for participation in International Aviation School which will be organized in frames of Erasmus+ project “SPREAD YOUR WINGS”.

The main aim of this project is to increase the quality and relevance of knowledge and skills of Aviation Management students in response to the needs of the labour market and the socio-economic environment. There will be created a new course “The Development of Sustainable Aviation” which will include the topics related to a new conceptual model of responsible and conscious aviation that sees its development in line with the interests of the social and natural environment and takes into account existing ecological barriers and expectations of the society.

Project is implemented by three partners:

• University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow, Poland (project leader);
• Kazimieras Simonavičius University, Lithuania;
• Transport and Telecommunication Institute, Latvia. 

International Aviation School will take place in Latvia, Riga on 23-27 September 2019.

Selected candidates will have to prepare and participate in activities in Latvia, and will be awarded with 6 ECTS credits according to their completion of the assignments during the activities.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

All candidates must submit the following documents:

• Application form;
• Cover Letter (up to 1 page; in English);
• Short essay about sustainable aviation (up to 1 page, in English).

The documents must be provided to the International Relations Office (room no. 201). The submitted materials will not be returned.

Jury will select 3 applications rated as the best among the submitted applications. Only these 3 applicants will participate in International Aviation School together with other 6 students from Poland and Latvia. 

DEADLINE

Documents must be submitted no later than 25.04.2018.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• The schedule of the International Aviation School will be provided to the participants at least 2 months before the activities.
• Students are expected to attend all classes during International Aviation School.
• Each participant will receive 455 EUR for living and travel costs for activities in Latvia.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact by e-mail international@ksu.lt or phone +370 686 34423.

On 19-23 November KSU hosted the 2^nd session of International Aviation School which is the part of Erasmus+ project „Spread your wings“. The 1^st session of International Aviation School took part in October in Poland. Aviation Management students from University of Information Technology and Management (Poland), Transport and Telecommunication Institute (Latvia) and KSU took place in this session.

Students had activities which were arranged according to the teaching materials which were already prepared during the project. During lectures and workshops students got acquainted with terminal and airside capacity optimization, sustainable airport facilities management and international initiatives for sustainability.

The main objective of the „Spread your wings” project is to increase the quality and relevance of knowledge and skills of bachelor and master degree Aviation Management and related disciplines students’ in response to the needs of the labour market and the socio-economic environment. An innovative course titled „Development of Sustainable Aviation” will be developed in a partnership of three organizations (from Poland, Lithuania and Latvia). The course will include topics related to a new conceptual model of responsible and conscious aviation that sees its development in line with the interests of the social and natural environment and takes into account existing ecological barriers and expectations of the society.

The project is financed by Erasmus+ programme. Project No. 2017-1-PL01-KA203-038782.