Being Paid to Fly
 

I would like some help for an idea that I had. I would like to be able to test the First Class products of different airlines as a Beta tester writing my review before the AC goes into service. I want to be able to test the IFE system,play with the Airshow Map system ,learn how to program the Airshow system as a hobby this summer. I am interested in working for airlines as a career posibility.

I would like to be able to fly to different cities overseas and possibly being paid to do it. Even if I am not paid I would like to go FC free of charge helping the airline fix their products. I am 19. This way I can get good meals onboard and a private staff.

What would be the best way to pursue this idea since I love traveling and I love flying. I mostly fly in coach and have never had the chance to fly in FC or J class overseas. I don't have lots of money. The airlines would benifit and I will too.

Is there any other FlyerTalk guru who ever thought of this as a summer vacation? I would like to start at the end of June and fly for 1-2 months. I would have my hotel in the air. Who k I will have my laptop hooked up to the powerport and get free calls. I can request drinks whenever. I will have a cinema and watch all the cool films. I can listen to good music and of course watch Airshow for 90 days of flying.

I love Airshow so much that I could watch it for hours on end. Who knows maybe I can get FF miles and Elite Status on many airlines for my service. Any ideas?

I have been doing what you want to do since I was 19. And the airlines have yet to pay me. Good Luck. Let me know if you come up with something http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

My wife came to me with a similar idea. She wanted to be the beta tester for the new American Express Gladitor Card.

She pictured herself shopping at Harvey Nicks from the early hours, then strolling down Sloane Street, dropping into this or that boutique. After a quick lunch at The Square, she was going to try the mighty new card down Old Bond Street, after which she was going to hop into a pre-arranged car to head out to LHR to test the 'premium travel products' offered by the card. After a first class flight to HKG, she was going to surprise the Peninsula (and Gladiator Card Services) with a rush check-in to a Royal Imperial Suite.

Naturally, she would have to pay nothing for the privilege and would write a comprehensive report for American Express, pointing out the various difficiencies of the card.

I told her that they probably wouldn't go for it!

On a serious note, a friend and I were contacted about something vaguely similar to this while we were doing our MBA.

To make a long story short, we had done a fairly comprehensive consulting project for a major international airline. A few months later, we got a call from the boss of the person for whom we had done the project.

He wanted to know if we would be interested in doing some research work for them on product enhancements they were considering for their international business class. Whilst they knew what their competition was offering, they wanted an unbiased and sensibly neutral opinion from outside of their organisation. They had found that feedback from their frequent flyers was not particularly useful, either because it was too opinionated (your product is the best, is the worst) or because it wasn't scientific.

Our job was to test the four closest competitors' products, evaluating everything from the ticket booking stage to the after-flight service. As you might think, we were pretty excited with this project (even though we were not going to get paid a great deal for it.) We spent about 3 intensive weeks working with the airline's product people to get behind what they were really after and were all ready to go, when the project was delayed for a variety of reasons. When it was set to go ahead a month later there was another delay.

We graduated and the project had not happened yet, although we were promised that it would happen. My project partner had to pull out because of real job commitments. I was prepared to wait another month as I had negotiated a late job start. To make a long story short, it never happened, although we were reasonable well paid for our work to date.

You see, Daniel, absent personal connections and hush-hush brokered deals, the only way to get paid for doing something is to do something that others can't or won't do. If you can find a place and a time where there's a shortage of nineteen-year-olds who'd like to fly international F and have their own staffs, you will be in business.

I don't mean to be rude, but do you have any qualifications besides wanting free stuff from the airlines?

My guess is that the airlines would prefer reviews of their first class products from people that actually fly first class sometimes. Just a guess.

Assuming you're serious, perhaps TAROM is looking for someone.

...................

Mileage Run?

While I am not one to discriminate on age I have realized that what was unique, tolerable, enjoyable, comfortable, acceptable, delectable...at the age of 19 is quite different from my preferences in my 40s.

Teenagers aren't the typical demographic market for first class flyers.

Testing airshow systems isn't a task for the airline, you could apply for a summer intern job at Rockwell Collins providing you have sufficient IT credentials.


This might interest you:

Airshow Sr Electronics Technician – ADV0000001C


Requirements:

It is desirable that the candidate be familiar with CMS-2 architecture, CMS-2 components (ADB, DDIB, EDIB, RSU), and QNX operating system.



Qualifications
This job requires a technical Associates degree in applicable technical field or equivalent related experience and a minimum of 5 years specifically related experience.


[This message has been edited by ScottC (edited Jan 28, 2004).]

Did you read the article, or only the headline? The person in the article is hustling from early morning until late at night, and has unique skills and talents -- a world away from a child's fantasy of writing reviews of Grey Poupon from the back seat of his Silver Seraph.

IIRC, said entrepreneur is a FT regular. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

As much as my wife shops she should apply to by a "mystery shopper", although she would have to travel quite a distance to go to a store that didn't already recognize her as a "valued customer".

I'm going to move this over to TravelBuzz, as it's not related to frequent travel programs but does have enough travel content to warrant avoiding OMNI. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Please follow this thread in the TravelBuzz forum.

Dave, a.k.a. dmfriedman
Moderator, Mileage Run

Actually, there is a client of mine who has recruited in the past for a position very similar to what danielonn has described. It is not all First Class travel though (although it sometimes involves a mix of classes) and it often is ridiculously exhausting work (think 3-4 consecutive nights aboard planes, sometimes in middle seats etc..).

Daniel, if you are serious about this kind of a position please drop me an email and I may be able to put you in touch with the relevant people. Be advised that these are usually very sought after jobs (barely 1 in 100 gets selected) and the pay is also not the best. However, it is usually a great experience for a university student.