I am looking advice from those who work in the airline industry, specifically in the areas of yield and/or revenue management. I am going back to grad school and one option I am considering is trying to get on with an airline as a yield management analyst, specifically Delta, Southwest, or Alaska Air. What are the drawbacks and benefits of working in the airline industry (besides the obvious perks of travel benefits)? Who would I contact to try to get my foot in the door for an internship or full-time position? Thanks in advance to any replies.

travel perks *can* be nice, but you'd be surprised at how many employees don't or can't use them. It only takes a couple times of having to buy a full Y fare home, or spending a couple of your vacation days sitting in an airport before you realize that its not all glamour.I've been with my company for 13 years, and I still buy a lot of tickets rather than non-rev. I only non-rev on other carriers if its nonstop, otherwise I buy a ticket.

Airlines like to hire from within. Get a job on the front line ... even a seasonal one. Having front line experience and the operational knowledge that comes with it look really good during the interview process.

I could not have said better. 32 years in the airlines & I can tell you it's not anything close to what it use to be.

I'll third that about the travel benefits. I loved my airline benefits when I had them and non-revved over a million miles, but there were times that I got stuck and plenty of other times when I just opted to purchase a ticket. In fact when I left my airline, I was already a PLT on AA.

And I'll echo Missy about airlines hiring from within. Unless you are already in yield management with another carrier, you are more than likely not going to be hired in at that position.

oh... as for internships or seasonal jobs... start looking around March for summer positions.

My aunt has worked almost every frontline job for UA other than pilot and could not agree more.
Things to consider, airlines are known to go through massive rounds of layoffs when things start to go south at all, and even when times are good I have heard raises are virtually a joke unless you get an outright promotion

As for the nonrev travel, you need total flexibility. Basically it comes to looking at the loads on the company intranet and picking out a destination sometimes hours before the flight leaves

With that said there are people who still love working in the industry and that. Just make sure you know everything about what getting into and weigh all options. Best of luck
P.S. look around airliners.net and a host of other blogs and message boards frequented by airline employees to get more of a perspective.

Since the OP will not see the thread if it is moved to OMNI, and since it's a little bit OT for Communitybuzz!, I'm going to close the thread.

Jenbel
Co-moderator, Communitybuzz!