Aviation MBA Degrees Online

If you’re thinking about getting your mba online and you have an interest in the airline industry, you might want to consider getting your mba in aviation.

Why Get An Aviation MBA?

Let’s start out with two words here: free flights.

When you graduate with your mba in aviation and go to work in the airline industry, you and your family will receive free flights whenever you want them.  This, as you can imagine, is a huge reason why so many people want to work for the airline industry.

Aside from enjoying drastically reduced vacation costs, however, why would you want to get an aviation mba?

Well, the airline industry is an extremely complex field.  When you think about all the flights that go in and out of an airport on a daily basis, the thousands of employees that must be managed, as well as the complex scheduling process that must be done years in advance, you can see why this is such a challenging field to be in.

With an aviation mba degree you’ll have the management skills you need to successfully work in this type of environment.  But, this degree is flexible enough so that if you don’t want to work specifically for an airline or airport, you don’t have to.  Aviation mba graduates could work for private companies like Boeing, or for government agencies like NASA.

Most schools tailor their aviation mba programs to benefit a wide variety of people. Current students include:

• Recent 4-year degree graduates
• Military personnel
• Pilots
• Managers for major and minor air carriers
• Airport managers
• Aerospace industry managers
• Aviation consultants

Online Aviation MBA Programs: What You’ll Learn

With an mba degree in aviation (also called aviation management in some schools) you’ll be spending a lot of time learning traditional business and management skills, but with a heavy focus on the unique challenges that occur in the aviation industry.

Some of the classes you might see in an aviation mba degree program include traditional business classes such as:

• Marketing Management
• Economic Models and Policy
• Business Administration
• Foundations in Financial Management
• Business Management

You’ll also be taking plenty of industry specific courses such as:

• Airport Planning and Development
• Aviation Carrier Operations
• Airline Route Planning Management
• Aviation Transport Management
• Aviation Operations Management
• Advanced Aviation Economics
• Strategic Marketing in Aviation

Aviation management can be a high-stress job, so it’s important that you have the ability to work and perform well under pressure.  And because you’ll be working with a diverse group of people, it’s also vital that you have good communication skills and be flexible working with others.

Some mba programs will also allow you to sit for the Air Traffic Controller exam, so if you’re interested in this field then you might want to look for a school that will help you prepare for this.

Careers With An MBA in Aviation

Although the aviation industry has taken some hits recently due to high gas prices, it’s still a great time to get your aviation mba.

The reason is because this is an industry that is always going to exist.  Due to the globalized nature of business people are always going to need, and want, to travel around the world.

This industry is also facing some unique opportunities.  Finding ways to increase fuel efficiency, improve customer service, as well as reduce emissions are just a few of the challenges facing aviation today.

Rather than being a turn-off, however, students should look at these challenges as a chance to get innovative in an industry that’s been slow to change over the years.  If you have a creative mind and an entrepreneurial spirit, getting your mba in aviation will give you the chance to work in a leadership position where you could affect real change.

It will also give you the opportunity to make a great living.  Managers with an mba in aviation earn, on average, $134,000 to $189,000 according to Salary.com.

This is also an industry that the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates will grow 18% over the next decade, which is faster than the national average.

Getting your aviation mba will put you on the path to a career that’s both exciting and challenging.  And, you can’t beat the benefits of free travel.