BSc (Hons) in Aviation and Airport Management

English Language Foundation

This unit focuses on your ability to understand and use the English language accurately when you read, speak, listen, and write. We will concentrate on the English you need for undergraduate-level study in your chosen subject area, covering grammar, subject area vocabulary, and the four language skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

A key element of the unit is the grammar of the language, particularly the verb tense system in English because your ability to use the verb tense system accurately will be extremely important when it comes to writing essays and reports. This unit will focus in particular on the grammar of the language.

We will also focus on reading, listening, and speaking skills in the context of your chosen subject area. Beginning with short texts, we will practice each skill and practice it again, so that gradually you will see, hear, and feel that your command of the language is improving.

A recurring focus of the unit will be your acquisition of 'learner autonomy'. This means your ability to acquire the language yourself, without needing a teacher's help. This is important because from next year you will not have an English teacher to help you. So we will consider and practice strategies to help you gain confidence in your ability to increase your knowledge of and ability to use the language, including, for instance, guessing the meaning of difficult words, deciding which words are important in a text, recognizing differences between formal and informal language, and other strategies, so that as the first semester continues, you begin to feel more confident in your use and experience with the English Language.

Academic Skills Foundation

When you begin your undergraduate level studies, you will be expected to have knowledge of and the ability to use a large range of 'study skills'. You will also be expected to have some knowledge of the subject area you will be studying. This unit deals with both of these aspects of your preparation for undergraduate-level study.

All of the academic skills are practiced in English, so you will use your developing acquisition of the language from the partner unit 'English Language Foundation' to practice and gain mastery of these skills. You will also use your language and study skills as you learn the foundation of your subject area, putting the skills into practice as you learn.

Developing English Language Skills

This unit builds on the progress you made during its partner semester 1 unit 'English Language Foundation' and increases your level from that which you had achieved by the end of semester 1.

We will recycle the tense system in English and other elements of the grammar system, but you will now learn how to use other aspects of the grammar, including the passive voice, as well as linking words and phrases and devices that enable you to write longer sentences but retain grammatical accuracy.

You will notice that we gradually introduce more specialist language that you need in preparation for your degree and we will expect you to use and develop the skills that you gained in the previous units so that you can work more independently.

Academic Skills Development

This unit builds on the skills learned and practiced in its partner semester 1 unit 'Foundation Academic Skills'. We will add more skills to the list, including summarizing and synthesizing, argumentation, critical thinking, and referencing and citation skills, as well as several others, and practice and test them in the same way as with the semester 1 unit.

We will also investigate the research skill and you will learn how to prepare a research proposal and conduct a literature review, and how to plan a research project, learning about the research tools available and how they can be used to conduct research in your chosen field.

You will continue to broaden your knowledge of key current issues and theory in your chosen subject area and apply the critical thinking and argumentation skills you acquire in this unit to argue for and against propositions you have studied in the form of both essays and presentations and seminar situations, ensuring that you are ready to step up to your chosen undergraduate course with a base level of subject area knowledge from which to continue your academic development as you progress to level 4 study.

Applied Numeracy For Business

This unit is part of a core spine of units that all Business students will encounter as part of their learning journey. This journey takes you through the beginning stage at Level 4, to the thrive stage at Level 5, and to Succeed stage at Level 6.
This unit is designed to support your Begin stage at level 4, it develops the numeracy skills and abilities you need to succeed in your studies and the business world. The unit is designed to support you and develop your confidence in essential mathematics and statistics techniques, it applies these techniques in a business context to give you an understanding of how they are used to solve problems and make decisions in business organizations.

The connected core spine of units also enables you to network with peers from across the faculty just as you will be expected to work with colleagues throughout the organization in the world of business.¿¿¿

The unit aims to achieve

• provide students with the fundamental knowledge and understanding of numeracy in business.

• develop student confidence in a range of numerical and statistical techniques.

• enable students to apply a range of numerical and statistical techniques to practical business problems.

Beginning Your Professional Business Journey

This unit is part of a core spine of units that all Business students will encounter as part of their learning journey. This journey takes you from the Begin stage at Level 4 to the Thrive stage at Level 5 through to the Succeed stage at Level 6. This unit is designed to support the Begin/Thrive/Succeed stage by introducing you to the skills that you will require to develop your professional practice.

The connected core spine of units also enables you to network with peers from across the faculty just as you will be expected to work with colleagues throughout the organization in the world of business.

This unit will help you begin your journey in Business and provide you with the support you will need to develop your professional practice.

In this unit, you will be presented with Business challenges that will allow you to collaborate with peers, and provide insight into a professional Business environment.

Structure And Development Of The Air Transport Industry

This unit aims to

• Provide an introduction to the airline and airport industries including the wider air transport industry.

• Discuss the historical development of the industry.

• Consider the regulatory and business context within which the industry operates.

• Introduce aircraft and aircraft manufacturers.

This unit offers students the opportunity to gain an understanding of the nature of the dynamic characteristics of the commercial air transport industry. It is important to understand the complex regulatory and business context influencing such a fast-paced and continually evolving industry. The unit builds from a historical perspective, through to an up-to-date examination of the current trends and ideas for the future development of air transport.

Managing People In Tourism And Aviation

This unit aims to help future managers create an inspiring and rewarding workplace where talented people can work to the best of their ability to meet internal and external customers’ needs and our wider social responsibility.

• This unit aims to achieve:
  • For learners to gain knowledge of the importance of leading, managing, and working in a team;
  • Appreciate the different styles of leadership and management;
  • Apply people managing skills in the labor-intensive commercial tourism and aviation industry.

Operations And Project Management

This unit will enable you to:

• To develop your knowledge and understanding of the use of business systems and information systems for effective management in a variety of business settings.

• To evaluate how operations management concepts are integral to the planning and control of enterprises.

• To explore the theory and principles of project management.

• To build your body of knowledge in both operations and project management whilst developing your analytical and evaluative skills to aid in efficiently and effectively managing operational and other projects.

Airline Revenue Management

The aims of this unit are to:

• Explore the economics and finance that underpin airlines;

• Consider the measurement and interpretation of airline performance and how it may be improved

• Investigate airline pricing and revenue management and what is required to maximize seat revenue

• Examine the key trend of airline ancillary revenue

Global Airline, Airport, And Cargo Operations Management

This unit aims to

• Explore commercial, legal, and operational areas of the global airline industry to equip students with strong knowledge of them

• Consider airline and airport markets, including trends and developments, which underpin the industry’s operations

• Investigate fleet and network planning, and how this impacts the operations of airlines & airports

• Examine passenger & cargo air transport operations both at airlines and airports

• Discover aircraft and crew scheduling, and the rules and regulations that underpin them.

• Place operational choices of airports or airlines in their wider strategic environment

Marketing For The Air Transport Industry

This unit aims to

• Introduce students to the main concepts of marketing

• Explain the importance of market segmentation for both airlines and airports

• Show the importance of market research before the introduction of new products/services

• Introduce marketing planning and the evaluation of marketing campaigns

• Describe the development of airline distribution

• Explore the latest digital marketing techniques and the importance of social media

This unit offers students the opportunity to gain an understanding of the nature of the dynamic characteristics of marketing in the commercial air transport industry. It is important to understand how the business context influences the marketing approaches taken by airlines and airports in the increasingly competitive environment of such a fast-paced and continually evolving industry. The unit gives a comprehensive concept of marketing and how these are being used and adapted by airlines and airports to promote new products and services.

Strategic Airport Planning & Development

• Explore the strategy, planning, and design of airports globally to equip students with strong knowledge of them

• Understand the marketing and finance of airports, including trends and developments

• Appreciate the crucial relationship between airports and airlines

• Investigate the environmental, economic, and social impacts of airports

Aviation Law

Aviation law is a highly specialist subject but it is an expanding area of law in the commercial world and can no longer be considered to be the preserve of niche firms. It is, therefore, an excellent example of what you could be dealing with when you qualify as a solicitor or barrister or do other commercial work. This unit aims to examine national and international law in the context of commercial civil aviation-related operations and builds upon your existing legal studies.

The unit will examine several current issues but will focus in particular on criminal law in aviation, carrier liability in the event of an accident, and passenger rights under EC261/2004 the “Denied Boarding Regulations”. These matters are not just of importance to the legal professional but have direct relevance to anyone who enjoys international and national travel by air. They are highly topical issues, the subject of frequent litigation, and in the case of e.g. EC261, are evolving daily. The unit also involves an examination of the Air Navigation Order and SERA. The assessment will develop your ability to adopt an independent learning approach to your learning by requiring that you complete a mini project on an aviation law-related topic.

This unit brings together many aspects of law and demonstrates that legal problems are not simply confined to one area of law but may involve a consideration of several diverse areas of law. In this sense, it aims to illustrate that law should not be compartmentalized but viewed as a whole by you, as you prepare to move on to professional studies or into the world of work. This unit enables you to identify and understand the governmental and international framework regulating aviation and to critically analyze the control of aviation activities and methods of enforcement with particular reference to the criminal process and aviation safety. It will also enable you to confidently handle, analyze, synthesize, and apply the operation of legal principles in aviation law and to develop the research, comprehension, writing, and critical evaluation skills necessary for its academic study.

Crisis Management And Communication

Organisations are increasingly vulnerable to crisis in the more transparent digital world. There is greater accountability for supply chain decisions; customers and activists have new channels of communication available to them; and organizational malfeasance is more likely to come to light.

In this environment of greater scrutiny, it is critical that students are prepared with an understanding of how crises develop and the organizational strategies that are available to respond to crises.

Research Methods

The unit aims to explain and analyze the practices in tourism, hospitality, events, and aviation research. The unit focuses on designing, collecting, analyzing, reporting, and interpreting data using qualitative and quantitative methods. In developing your research skills, this unit enables you to design a research proposal that provides the foundations and underpinnings for your final dissertation project. Central to this unit is the University of Bedfordshire’s research-informed-teaching (RiT) and research-informed-learning (RiL) strategy, which ensures you are kept up-to-date with research and research skills in tourism, hospitality, events, and aviation.

The ability to conduct research and interpret information is a key skill in both the academic and commercial worlds. Gaining an understanding of research and the research process, and experiencing it, is important for several reasons. Firstly knowledge, and consequently understanding, is based upon research; secondly, research is playing an increasingly acknowledged role in the planning and management of tourism, hospitality, and events. Nearly all jobs within these sectors will use research skills. Finally, this unit introduces you to both theory and practice of research and prepares you for further study.

Research Project

The unit aims to synthesize various overall course elements in preparation for the pursuit of one area of interest through independent research and study. The purpose of the unit is to further develop your skills in performing research in tourism, hospitality, events, and aviation. You will be required to design and present a coherent academic project on your selected topic, informed by previous research, in the form of a dissertation; demonstrating your abilities to analyze, critique, and interpret a research problem/question/statement specific to tourism, hospitality, events, or aviation.

The dissertation is an integral part of the Honours degree; you cannot be awarded an Honours degree without successful completion of the dissertation. You will conduct independent research in an area of academic, personal, and/or professional interest to you. Your chosen area of research should be very closely aligned with your degree program. The dissertation presents you with an opportunity to contribute to current knowledge and express your understanding and skills in your specialist field of tourism, hospitality, events, or aviation

Critical Issues For Airlines And Airports

This unit aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills to understand the scope and aspects of the impacts of aviation on the environment and how these impacts may be managed to improve aviation sustainability. The unit will closely reflect the needs of the aviation sector in complying with international environment management standards and insights into how the industry manages its environmental responsibilities. The unit enables you to appreciate the relationships between aviation and the environment and how these can be better managed. This will help you to understand how to engage with resource efficiency and become critical of the environmental management practices at work. This unit will also facilitate students’ ability to see the ‘bigger picture’ including current critical issues in aviation, alongside environmental impacts

Managing Safety And Security For Air Transport

• Explore the fundamental elements of air transport safety and security within a contemporary and managerial context.

• Investigate aircraft accidents and incidents and understand the factors that contributed to them.

• Examine the regulations and systems that can increase safety and security.

Professional Practice Year (Tourism, Events And Aviation)

This unit aims to provide the opportunity to undertake career-related experience which will allow you to understand and undertake responsibilities in the workplace at an appropriate level and use the opportunity to assess your readiness to undertake a career in your chosen field

How will you be assessed?

Assessment incorporates the testing of presentation skills communication analysis and problem solving effectively managing different viewpoints in addition to subject knowledge breadth and depth. Assessment types include: presentations reports exams portfolios and research projects. These skills aforementioned are embedded in all their assessments to allow students to develop their employability skills from Level 4 to Level 6.

• Demonstrate knowledge of the underlying concepts and principles associated with Aviation and Airport Management, and an ability to evaluate and interpret these within the context of Aviation and Airport Management.
• Ability to present, evaluate and interpret qualitative and quantitative data, to develop lines of argument and make sound judgments by basic theories and concepts of Aviation and Airport Management.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the main methods of inquiry in Aviation and Airport Management, and the ability to evaluate critically the appropriateness of different approaches to solving problems in Aviation and Airport Management.
• Ability to use a range of established techniques to initiate and undertake critical analysis of information, and to propose solutions to problems arising from that analysis.
• Demonstrate a systematic understanding of key aspects of Aviation and Airport Management, including the acquisition of coherent and detailed knowledge, at least some of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of defined aspects of a discipline.
• Ability to apply the methods and techniques learned to review, consolidate, extend and apply knowledge and understanding, and to initiate and carry out projects.
• Demonstrate knowledge and analytical understanding of professional practice by successfully completing an approved period of approved workplace practice.

This course will prepare you for a range of career opportunities in the aviation and airport industries.

You might consider a graduate position with a major airport or one of the airport concessions or work within a junior management capacity.

Equally the degree opens up the possibility of careers in major local and national/international airports airlines or ground service companies.