Operations Control and Communication at South African Airways (SAA)

Job Purpose    

• The Operations Control and Communication role is to monitor and coordinate service provider activities around airline aircraft and proactively employ corrective action where necessary to ensure on-time performance. The role is responsible for establishing, monitoring and maintaining ground to air communication for all SAA airborne aircrafts operating to various destinations around the world. Investigate root cause of irregular operations and initiate a recovery plan with the least inconvenience to passengers and disruption to the published schedule. Lastly, the role is responsible for tracking South African Airways and client airline’s aircraft position in accordance with ICAO 15 minutes’ mandate and Global Aeronautical Distress System.

Principal Accountabilities    

• Demonstrates an understanding of the Global Operations Control
• Centre strategy and plan relevant to own work outputs Implements department strategy within own area of responsibility
• Monitor, obtain and investigate reasons for delays/ route diversions and initiate voice data messages in order to obtain relevant information
• Ensure accurate delay allocation following proper investigation Facilitate abnormal operations with the least inconvenience to passengers and disruption to the schedule
• Facilitate a joint decision making process with various departments in the operational environment ensuring minimum discomfort to the passenger whilst maximizing revenue earning potential by applying the following operational schedule recovery techniques Monitor supplementary flights, re-routes, aircraft type changes, time changes, configuration changes, flight cancellations, flight combinations
• Ensure effective communication between all sections, to maximize co-operation and minimize delays
• Establish duration of adverse conditions, gather all information that will lead to schedule disruption, e.g. aircraft diversions, report to the Duty Controller
• Communicate parking bay changes to all the relevant departments and update MCS
• Monitor operational schedule for deviations from published schedule
• Analyse impact of schedule change and investigate most cost effective solution
• Establish serviceability status of aircraft for the specific planning period
• Gather all relevant information about technical snags, inform Duty Manager and Technical Advisor
• Communicate requirements of alternate crew or standby crew; co- ordinate with relevant departments to ensure quick turnaround Negotiate &Monitor parking bays allocation with ACSA
• Ensure that all airborne SAA aircraft and client airlines are tracked in accordance with ICAO 15-minute mandate and that communication failure protocol is followed where the mandate is not maintained

Qualifications & Experience    

• Grade 12 (Matric) with a pass in Mathematics at NQF level 4
• ICAO Flight dispatcher or 5 years’ experience as Communications officer/Flight follower/Operations Controller
• A 3-year relevant tertiary qualification at NQF 6 and/ or 4 years’ experience in Airline operational environment
• Operational qualifications in IATA Phase 1, Passenger Handling, Amadeus (CM) and PegaSys (advanced), current qualification in Aircraft Weight Balance, current qualification in Dangerous Goods (CAT10) and a current qualification in Radio Telephony

Knowledge and Skills    

• Understanding of SAA operations, destinations and that of its service suppliers, pertaining to On-Time Performance
• Advanced Delay Management processes
• Advanced knowledge of PegaSys MCS
• Knowledge of aircraft types / configurations
• Knowledge of IATA and ICAO codes
• Knowledge of SAA/IATA delay code system
• Knowledge of SAA service failure codes
• Reservations system and Departure Control
• Telex, Sitatex, SATCOM and ACARS Slot Management ACSA, ATNS
• ICAO/ IATA basic formats, regulations and recommendations
• SAA fleet configuration, payload capacity (Cargo and Passengers) and flying times

Attributes    

• Effective communication
• Technical Expertise
• Stakeholder Relationships
• Flexibility and Adaptability
• Drives Results
• Organisational Awareness
• Ethics and Integrity
• Collaboration