According to Don and Alex Tapscott, the authors of the book ‘Blockchain Revolution’, “The blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value.”

Basically, blockchain is a database that holds all kinds of information. This database guarantees that whatever is inputted into it (money, a graduation certificate, a home deed etc..) is real and anything written onto it cannot be amended or deleted. Cryptocurrency is basically the fuel that powers this database.

In May 2018 I submitted my Masters Thesis titled; ‘An initial Evaluation of the potential implementation of Blockchain Technology in the Accreditation of Aircraft Maintenance Stakeholders’. I was genuinely interested in this subject and, at first glance, I saw the potential for the implementation of such a technology in aviation.

After months of Redbull fuelled research, interviews and 20,000 words later, I still hadn’t wrapped my head around the technicalities of blockchain technology. Having said that, I had come to a theoretical conclusion based on the fundamentals of this new technology:

Blockchain would undoubtedly add value to the aircraft maintenance industry. The complete digitization of aircraft technical documentation and the battle against certificate fraud could both be solved by this technology.

Blockchain technology would ensure that fake aircraft engineers/pilot licenses and counterfeit parts would become a thing of the past. Such examples may have a significant impact on safety so they are subjects that should be taken seriously.

While the whole world has been working on digitizing their documentation and processes, there has been very little innovation in the evolution of aircraft documentation (possibly the single most valuable item of an aircraft is its documentation).

Without a shadow of a doubt, blockchain technology opens the door to a vast array of improvement opportunities for the aviation industry.

There are an infinite amount of internet articles that claim that the aviation industry would save millions of dollars by introducing blockchain technology. Airlines such as Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines have been working on developing their own blockchain ecosystem.

Stakeholders have no choice but to continue to invest in technology to facilitate the advancement of the industry. Unfortunately, currently there are certain external and internal factors that are putting a lot of pressure on the industry.

Let’s begin with the obvious, the increasing costs on airlines are making it harder for airlines to end the year in the green. Aviation regulators and certain manufacturers are experts at creating unnecessary costs for the already financially constrained stakeholders within the aviation sector.

The latest craze in our sphere is climate change/environmental/fuel tax – call it what you want. Aviation is already doing more than most industries to reduce its impact on climate change – fuel efficient aircraft engines, lighter aircraft bodies and the use of biofuel are just some examples. Governments should look at helping airlines by, for example, bringing the price down for biofuel so more airlines could afford to use it.

Increasing taxes on passengers and/or aircraft operators is not the solution to “sustainable aviation”. Increasing taxes would just dig a bigger hole in companies’ pockets: it would increase workloads on staff and reduce investment on actual safety/process improvement projects – such as the introduction of blockchain.

The second major hurdle the industry must get over is the lack of human and supply chain resources. The post-covid world is a very different world to how we left it in 2020. Most industries have a lot of catching up to do to get to late 2019/early 2020 service levels. The aviation industry is no different – stakeholders are utilizing a lot of resources to rebuild their organizations and to replenish their supply chains. These, therefore, take priority over continued technological development.

Lastly, the lack of communication and the lack of standardization between stakeholders in the aviation sphere is a masterpiece. The marvelous thing about aviation is, given the everyday challenges, men and women go to work to make the seemingly impossible a reality. A Blockchain eco-system would work best if implemented across multiple organizations, in different jurisdictions. Implementing a blockchain environment within one organization would create even more disparity within the industry.

At the end of the day, blockchain is a database that should be accessed by as many people and/or organizations as possible to have a centralized point of “truth”. Understanding when blockchain technology is actually needed is vital as standard technology would be able to carry out the vast majority of functions of, lets say, a private blockchain, at a fraction of the initial and operating cost.

Developing blockchain ‘silos’ continues to fuel the division between aviation stakeholders. States such as EASA (Europe) and FAA (USA) are in a far better position to champion the introduction and transition to the ‘new world’.Cooperation between major industry stakeholders to work together on a unified approach on unlocking the potential of this new technology would be the industry’s best chance of success.

Blockchain Technology has the potential to be a game-changer in our industry. It is incredible that such a powerful technology now exists. It is in reach but, yet, it is so far away.

This technology is still in its infancy. As time goes by, the development in this space will undoubtedly continue to strengthen the need for mass implementation within the industry. The challenge will be to correctly identify where this technology should be deployed. The hype is real – getting blinded by blockchain salesmen will be a hurdle that decision makers will have to overcome.

Fast forward 3 weeks – I was sat in taxi in Dublin at 1 am on my way to my hotel. I was getting anxious as I had to be up at 8 am to get to class by 9 am for the first lecture at the Law Society of Ireland. The driver turned to me and asked if I was in any way concerned about this Coronavirus ‘thing’. I giggled and assured him there was nothing to worry about. 

Well, turns out, I was wrong.

On Thursday 12th March 2020, the company I worked for initiated their work-from-home mandate. Almost overnight, the company’s fleet of 60+ aircraft was effectively grounded. Understandably, they announced a 20% pay decrease until they saw some form of improvement in their cash flow. The world was effectively shut down, aviation was at a standstill. My wife was 8 months pregnant, the future never looked more uncertain – I have never been so scared in my life.

On 18th April 2020 at 10:35 am our baby boy, Jack was born. 

I consider myself as one of the aviation industry’s lucky ones – I worked for VistaJet, a very successful business jet operator. Throughout the worst periods of the pandemic, senior management was in constant communication with all staff members. Through weekly/monthly Zoom and Teams meetings, they shared as much information as possible with us. They gave the employees a reason to keep working hard as everyone was fighting the same battle. Sure enough, after 3 months we all returned to full pay, business was picking up.

Unlike commercial aviation, the pandemic had a very positive impact on the business aviation industry. One aspect that really interested me was the fact that Covid-19 opened the door for BizJet operators to tap into a new market of high net worth individuals who never thought they would need/want to fly on a business jets. I would love to elaborate futher on the effects of Covid-19 on business aviation but it is not the scope of this blog.

I no longer work for VistaJet. I switched company because they could not offer me the role progression that I was looking for at that point in my career. Having said that, I have nothing but praise and admiration for that organization, The 2 years I spent at VistaJet were invaluable to me:

1. I learnt the true importance of communication and team work.
2. I saw the art of execution being carried out on a daily basis (VistaJet senior management really drilled their staff on the concept of execution). This is something that I had never really been exposed to. The continued emphasis on execution is one of the biggest lessons I took from my time there. 
3. Process perfection was integral to the successful operation of the company. Accurately documenting that process was as important as it’s implementation. 
4. It was always about the fine, smaller details. That truly is the difference between good and great. 

VistaJet continually strive for perfection in everything they do. 

Today, the aviation industry is on the mend. This pandemic showed the world how fragile our lives really are. It also showed how resilient and adaptive we need to be to survive. The last 2 years could be considered as garbage; but if you have the courage to dig through that pile of rubbish, there is a good chance that you may find gold. Looking back on it now, I was exposed to situations that, without the pandemic, I may never have experienced – hence lessons I may never have learnt. As an added bonus, during this time I also got a diploma in aviation leasing and finance from the Law Society of Ireland.

My gold is that I became a father of two healthy boys. As cut-off and self-sufficient the pandemic forced us to be; everyday I woke up and slept next to the woman I love and my little baby boys. 

‘Even though the industry is male dominant, you will still find people who respect you and ultimately, give you the opportunity to develop your career. Although women are outnumbered, if you have the right attitude, you can still grow in your career.’

I genuinely believe that aviation needs to have more female representation. More so in Malta, where many outlets are screaming about the exponential growth of the local aviation industry. This lack of representation was evident to me when at an established company’s yearly management meeting, out of around fifteen managers, only one was a woman.

In order to shed some light on this situation, I carried out interviews with the Amelia Earharts and the Raymonde de Laroches of the Maltese aviation industry.

Bernice Fenech Zammit is 27 years old and has already been working in aviation for 10 years. When Bernice first walked into an aircraft hangar she was looking for a job as a mechanical aircraft maintenance technician. Her superiors assumed that, being a woman, she was more suited to a maintenance technician position within the avionics (electrical) department. She did not appreciate the assumption and immediately voiced her opinion.  She is now one of the company’s most revered aircraft maintenance mechanical engineers.

Bernice was introduced to aviation at a young age by her mother. Her mother used to take her to the yearly Malta International Airshow (this massive source of inspiration has been cancelled for the third year in a row). When she was not at the airshow she was on her roof looking at planes flying in and out of Malta International Airport.

Stephanie Vella Gera is a 31 year old, Safety and Compliance Manager at a Maltese airline. She too started her career as an aircraft maintenance technician. She wasn’t the only female to graduate from her class of 2008,  however today Steph is the only one still working in aviation. 

Both women I interviewed passed through some testing times during their careers in aviation. From being subject to gender discrimination to continuing to work on their career whilst raising a family. Despite these testing times, what strikes me the most about these two women is their unconditional love for aviation.

Day-in day-out, these women spend the majority of their days striving to carve out a career for themselves in an industry that is so male dominant. It is their love for aviation that keeps this relentless pursuit going. 

Having said that, one’s love and passion for the industry alone is not enough to guarantee a long, successful career in aviation. 

Bernice and Stephanie both have strong support structures at home. Aviation is a 24/7 job and requires tonnes of dedication to ensure that everyday, you are performing at your best. This dedication could mean long hours at work and far-away business trips. Both women explained to me that their partners understand what they are trying to achieve and that they support them as best they can. 

The interviews highlighted that conditions in the workplace also affect women who choose a career in aviation. This was experienced by Stephanie when she was pregnant 4 years into her career.  

Stephanie was lucky enough to be employed at a company that supported her during this time. Both Stephanie and the company she was working for did not see the pregnancy as a hurdle, but as an opportunity. She successfully transitioned from the shop floor as a maintenance technician to the continuing airworthiness department then to the quality department. 

The quality department offered her a safer and more sustainable working environment as it included more flexibility in terms of working hours. This transition suited her perfectionist, attention-to-detail character traits and the company also heavily benefited from this move. This flexibility helped ensure that Stephanie remained engaged in her job during and after her pregnancy.

Bernice also mentioned the need of flexibility, especially in the future if it comes to the time that she too will be raising a family. Employers need to take note – to ensure a successful career in aviation, working hours flexibility is something women need to have. 

‘Women are better because throughout history they were perceived as weaker. In male dominant industries women had to work twice as hard to be considered as equal’ 

Bernice, August 2019

Throughout both interviews we spoke about the development of their careers to date. Naturally, I asked them where they saw themselves in five years time. From their answers, it was very clear, Bernice and Stephanie are both very ambitious. They have set their goals and are hell-bent on achieving them. 

There is no reason why women should be intimidated by participating in the aviation industry. The industry can offer a long, sustainable career for anyone who is willing to give it a try and work hard. It is no secret that women have their own unique challenges. Organisations should realize this and should offer a working environment that empowers women. 

One of the biggest organisational challenges in todays’ aviation environment is hiring or retaining personnel. Malta is no different. Several organisations hold back on their expansion ambitions as they cannot hire, or hold onto, the required staff to sustain that growth. In some cases, hiring a person boils down to taking a chance on someone that lacks the required experience but has the right attitude. The following is my experience:

In July 2015, I actively started looking for aviation career opportunities that will take me away from the hangar floor. I sent my CV and, what I thought was a really strong cover letter, to at least 30 companies – Zero replies. 

After about 3 months, my mind started wondering, was a career away from the hangar floor really the path I wanted to take?

Finally, on 12th November 2015 I got a reply. My heart went from 0 to 170 beats per minute in literally one second. The company was a Russian owned, Maltese registered company, operating a number of private jets. Exciting.

He asked if I was looking for ‘simple CAMO engineer job’ – CAMO – Continuing Airworthiness Management Organisation – In a nutshell, a CAMO engineer’s responsibility involves making sure an aircraft is maintained at the right time, at the right place, according to the correct standards – there is absolutely nothing ‘simple’ about it.

Was this my lucky break? There could only be one answer to his email – ‘yes’. I was motivated to learn and was ready to put in the hours. A day later he replied:

‘Good afternoon,

Are you aware of that means 24/7, low salary and clear focus to deliver each second high quality performance and a very small chance to get promotions?

Regards,

XXXX / Director/ Accountable Manager’

He sent his reply right before lunch, and it messed up my appetite (and whoever knows me, not eating lunch is a pretty big deal). Is that what aviation is all about?!

That email really put a dent in my confidence. Once again, was that the path I really wanted to take? Looking back, thankfully, that opportunity never materialised.

Fast forward a month and another opportunity presented itself. The interview was scheduled on a Wednesday, some time in mid-December, with a growing, private jet operator in Malta.

It was a hot Wednesday morning. I arrived at around 9:00 am and nervously walked their offices. Everyone was dressed so elegantly – men wore suits with tie clips and the women wore dresses with heels. 

The office was full of commotion and movement, the place was bustling and to say that I was intimidated is an understatement. A six foot, white haired, english man walked up to me, introduced himself and escorted me to his office. 

We chatted for a while. He seemed to understand my plight. He offered me the job as a CAMO engineer.

I wasn’t messing around, I shook his hand and accepted the job offer. My first day on the new job, the first day of the rest of my life was the 4th January 2016. 

Today, I wish to sit down with the english man to pick his brain on why he hired me. I had hands on aircraft maintenance experience but he knew I never had an office job, he knew I did not tick any of the role’s advertised requirements. For some reason, he took a chance on me. 

Was it my attitude? Was the company desperate for personnel? Maybe it was a combination of both, it didn’t matter. I was at the right place at the right time. The perseverance had finally paid off.

That job changed my life. The job exposure was more than I could ever ask for. That ‘simple’ CAMO job was my lucky break. 

Currently, the industry is passing through a personnel shortage crisis. The aviation is a highly regulated industry with several technical requirements. Someone without experience needs to start from somewhere. To all the hiring personnel, do not be scared to take a chance on someone.

I can’t thank the 6 foot, white haired English man enough.

Today, Joon no longer exists. Joon’s business strategy was extremely ambitious. It was a valiant effort; with decent execution but the gamble did not pay off. Why did this very expensive social experiment fail? Evidently, they did not fully understand what millennials are. Did they really think an airline could be viable when targeting a specific age bracket rather than basing their airline on traditional travel economics? 

So what and who are millennials?

Millennials, AKA Generation Y, are often described as people born between 1980 and the mid-1990s. They are tech savvy individuals who understand a world with social media and know what the world was like before social media. I was born in 1989, I am a millennial. 

Why are millennials important to the world?

According to the Pew Research Center, millennials are now the largest generation in the U.S labour force. We are the future of not just the aviation industry, but the whole world. If you are a millennial, the world is counting on you. 

I genuinely believe that today’s aviation leaders underestimate the importance and significance of millennials in the workplace. I have experienced a considerable number of people turn their backs on perfectly suitable aviation career because the company could not adapt to the millennials’ requirements. What really upsets me is when seasoned aviation professionals get forced out of the industry because their superiors do not understand their employee’s cry for change. 

I saw this happening this week. A female power-house aircraft maintenance planning engineer decided enough was enough at the company she worked for. There is nothing wrong with leaving a job, sometimes a person just needs a change. What really upset me was that she was driven out of the aviation industry. All those years of experience, all that knowledge. She is great at what she does and she loves the industry. My gut tells me she will be back but that’s just a fool’s hope. 

She left because the job she was promised was not the job she was doing. She did not leave because she wanted more money, she left because she longs for a greater challenge. The planning department is severely understaffed and requires a massive amount of expertise – the fact that she said she needed a bigger challenge just continued to highlight the need for better management. Her EXACT words were: 

‘Gabe, when I punch out from work, I do not feel like I made a difference’

 I imagine the above phrase as being the Millennial’s slogan – ‘I want to make a difference’. 

How can aviation managers organise their departments to create an environment where their staff feel like they made a difference?

My answer to the above are the highlighted words in the following few paragraphs. This is my experience:

I used to work 24 hours a day, day in, day out, as part of the Maintenance Operations Control (MOC) team for a business aviation company. For whoever does not know what MOC is: it is basically the person the crew contacts when their aircraft doesn’t seem to be behaving correctly. 

MOC in business aviation is mad. Work was relentless, jumping from one issue to another. Apart from the countless hours in the office, one week in every three, after work we had to divert the department calls to our mobile and monitor the department emails. The emails and calls never stopped. Oh, and I was drastically underpaid (but that did not really bother me). 

Looking back, I was over-stressed, overweight and underpaid but I would have done everything for that company. Why?

1.    I loved that I was so involved in the day to day running of the aircraft operation,

2.    I loved my colleagues,

3.    I loved that I had a voice in the company,

4.    I loved the start-up atmosphere,

5.    I was inspired by the company’s accountable manager. It was the first time I worked for such a charismatic, eccentric, ‘crazy’, risk taker, gut trusting guy. He was so unpredictable. He knew what to say and when to say it. He knew how to rally his troops to deliver on some ridiculous goal he set his sights on. The plan is to write another blog about these mad kings of aviation organisations.

With the above in mind, you would think that my superior had cracked the answer to the above question. No way! He had no idea what was going on in the department. We were a group of 3 millennials – Loic, Nicolas and myself – that decided to run the department how we saw fit. Our manager used to help us out with the technical aspects but, the organisation of the department was up to us. We had an unwritten understanding that the department was only going to be successful if we emphasized:

1. Team-work,
2. Honesty,
3. Team-work,
4. Fun (which meant plenty of food and beer),
5. And more Team-work.

We were flexible. We would fight between us on who was going to take the evening shift. If I was on night duty and had an Aircraft on Ground (AOG – when an aircraft develops a technical issue and cannot fly until it is solved) at 8 pm after a long ass day, the others would stay with me till the early hours of the next day. And I would gladly do the same. FYI – this happened very often. 

We always used to get the job done and I genuinely felt that I made a difference. It was an awesome feeling!

So, why did I quit?

This is where good management would have made a difference. I only lasted 1.5 years (the three of us lasted around the same time). If our superior had realised that we were being pushed too far he could have made arrangements to ensure the working conditions were more sustainable. 

The 3 am calls and the long office hours took a toll on both myself and my soon-to-be wife. I was over-stressed and I made a decision when I was angry. Do I regret it? Sometimes. Would I go back in time to change it? Definitely Not. Everything happens for a reason, and that decision has made me who I am today.

Concluding opinion *finally*: Aviation manager and leaders have to accept that millennials are rarely ever loyal to an organisation. Millennials want to make a difference. They are ready to work their butts off for a leader they look up to and/or for colleagues they admire. 

Remember Joon, it never stood a chance. Millennials are so much more than organic coffee, fancy aircraft and shiny objects. Love us or hate us, we are the future and we are ready to make a difference – just give us a chance!

I started my aviation career as an apprentice aircraft maintenance technician with our local airline, Air Malta. I worked line maintenance – shift work for 6 years, providing TLC for Air Malta’s fleet of A319 and A320s. I have massive respect for the guys and girls braving the elements to ensure that all those birds get their loads to their destination safely.

Today, one of my responsibilities is to audit line stations against ‘Part-145’  EU regulations for a local company (‘Part-145’ is basically what the European Union call aircraft maintenance organisations).

Organisations may perform maintenance away from their main base provided that those stations are compliant with ‘Part-145’ regulations. To date, I have audited line stations in Malta, Tunis, Libya and Ghana. Now, auditing a line station in Europe is one thing, however, auditing line stations in developing nations is a completely different ball game.

This brings me nicely to the topic of this article, Part-145 line stations in remote, developing nations. Just to paint you a picture, my first experience auditing a remote line station was in Mitiga, Libya in February 2018. My colleague and I were tasked with re-evaluating the line station to ensure it was still operating at the required standard.

Months prior to the audit there were several reports of civil unrest. Days before our departure, the safety manager who was responsible for us was not too happy we were still going on the mission but we all knew how important it was to have the station running.

At 0700Z on 13th February 2018, my colleague and I boarded the direct, 45 minute flight from Malta to Mitiga.

Considering the unfortunate situation Libya was in, the line station was in pretty good shape. The team there gave the impression that they were really motivated and spirits were high. Apart from a couple of bullet holes in the main office and a far-from-ideal lavatory situation, the rest of the facility looked good. 

 During the closing meeting at around 1400Z  – an hour before the aircraft was due in Mitiga to take us back to Malta, we heard a massive explosion. A rocket was shot into the airport and flight home was diverted to Misrata, 200 kilometres away. Its safe to say, our safety manager was tearing his hair out (the little he had left)! So much for the closing meeting. We had to get ourselves to Misrata!

The day before our departure to Mitiga we had a briefing from our safety manager. He had a ‘plan’ to get us out of Mitiga if the situation went south. He had never initiated this plan on a real-life scenario so, effectively, we were his guinea pigs.

Back to the story – Out of no where a large, clean shaven Libyan approached us and demanded we follow him. He lead us to a black, sparkling new VW Passat and sure enough, 3 hours later we were on our way back to Malta.

That adventure was a massive eye-opener for me: Take nothing for granted and really dedicate the time to understand and prepare for the every part of your mission. For example, take the facilities available during post-war Mitiga, you can’t expect to find sparkling clean tool racks, top of the range air conditioning and speedy, uninterrupted internet connection. External circumstances, beyond the control of anyone within the company, play a real role in the daily operations of the station. Don’t get me wrong, you can still demand excellence – the line station should operate according to regulations, personnel must be trained, tools and parts should be controlled, maintenance data should be up to date, etc.. 

As an auditor, one must understand the situational circumstances of the mission and try to use the regulations to make the operation run smoother. Listen to the auditees to, for example, understand were you can raise a finding to ensure they get the help they need. Sometimes, the men and women who dedicate their time (and lives) to these line stations are completely alone.

Although ‘just’ a line station, peoples lives are still affected. From the people manning the station, support staff such as auditors, aircraft handlers and the passengers flying on the aircraft. You can’t control external forces but you can try and prepare for when things do not go as planned.