Interested in getting a job at the airport (KIAH)

[mwilk 1,106]

Somewhere on the application will be a question, "Are you willing to relocate?". Check yes even if you won't. If you check no, your application will end up in the circular file. At some point in your airline career you may have to answer that question in reality. The airline business is very cyclical and closely tied to the economy. I spent the first 24 years of my career in Cleveland. I saw a lot of people come and go due to layoffs and displacement. I figured after 24 years I was probably pretty safe where I was. 9/11 changed all of that and in 2003 my job was outsourced. I had the option to stay and work for the contract company at a significant pay cut or transfer. That's how I ended up at DFW. In 36+ years I was laid off twice and went through four mergers which are never pretty. I enjoyed my career and made a good living but as with any job, it has its ups and downs.

[Gregm8907 4]

15 hours ago, captain420 said:

Thanks a lot for the wonderful responses guys. And the 420 reference in my name has nothing to do with the drug. I know most people will resort to thinking of that at first glance but it's the date that my beloved grandfather passed away, and I put it in my name for respect and to remember him by.

I will give all those places a try to see. I notice that most ramp jobs pay $10-$12 to start. I expected more, but I hope they are good with raises if I were to work for awhile. Are there any opportunities to get promoted while working as a ramp agent? Such as a higher position for higher pay?

It was also mentioned that if I were to work at the airport (outside) was to apply for the cargo planes, since it's less work. Is this true? and if so do you mean for a company such as UPS or FedEx or can it be any cargo company such as United? Not sure if they have cargo specific planes at KIAH though.

You can expect the typical yearly raises as well as promotions for working hard. I fueled Fedex at my most recent FBO job and the guys there have the system down pretty well it seems like everybody has the same task assigned each time a plane pulls up. In my last post I mentioned fueling airlines and I found it easy because I enjoyed it so much because sometimes I had to juggle more than one plane in making sure they got the fuel on board before they pushed which was challenging and kept the job interesting. 

[JRBarrett 3,070]

Both FedEx and UPS have a large presence at KIAH, and there are two large cargo facilities. that service other freight haulers as well. Airline-wise, United is, of course, the dominant carrier. Ramp jobs are probably the best way to break in without previous aviation experience. 

There are two FBOs at IAH, but frankly, neither are extremely busy. Probably the majority of corporate /GA flights coming to the Houston area use Hobby - where there are many FBO facilities. Hobby also has a strong Southwest Airlines presence.

Standard Aero has a large maintenance facility at IAH, doing airframe and engine work on corporate jet aircraft. It would probably be difficult to start there with no previous aviation experience though.

 

[captain420 3,099]

mwilk, thanks for your insights, this is great information for me. Would it be possible to work as a ramp agent, passenger service agent or gate agent in another country such as Asia for somebody with a US passport? I love to travel and I wouldn't mind working at the airport for one of these positions. I am interested in moving to Hong Kong, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Tokyo or Seoul and would love to work at an airport there, but is it possible for a US citizen to get a job there?

For the time being I would like to start at KIAH to get some experience and see what it's like. You guys recommend that I apply for the airline and not a subcontractor, that way I'll get better pay and benefits. And I also hope there will be room for growth as well as the opportunity for me to switch positions such as going from ramp agent to passenger service agent, etc.

Do you need any sort of degree to do these following jobs at the airport? I'm sure they will train you.

mwilk, did you get a lot of travel benefits/perks as a ramp agent at DFW? Like did you get vacation time, and free traveling, hotel discounts?

[BrianW 124]

Is your desire to work around aircraft in general or just for an airline?  My first aviation job was working as a ramper at an airport without airline service.  At one point I looked into getting a job as a ramp agent at an airline but slinging baggage as a major part of the job didn’t appeal to me. I still had to handle baggage but in much smaller quantities. I also had a chance to work around a much larger variety of aircraft, everything from single pistons to daily refueling of 767s.

 

Have you looked at the career page for United yet?  It’s probably the best place to look to see what type of jobs are out there as well as the requirements and benefits.  It’s also probably a good idea to think about what you want to be doing a few years from now so you can start planning to meet some of those requirements now.

[captain420 3,099]

Well, both actually. I like being around planes and in that kind of environment. But I would prefer to work for the airline company because of better pay and benefits. I will check out United's website and see what openings they have. Not sure if I would be able to handle moving luggage all day. I'm not really the strongest person, but perhaps I'll naturally get stronger from doing it. Hope that I won't get back problems or pains because I can easily get those when moving heavy items and lift things the wrong way.