Ahana shares what a typical day is like as an intern at British Airways...
Tell us a bit about your background
I study Politics, Economics and Data Science at University College London (UCL), entering my third year this September. I moved to London for my studies in 2022 from Delhi, India. I have always been fascinated by the intersection between numbers and social issues, so a lot of my academic background is based on Political Science and Data Science.
What is your role at British Airways?
I am part of the Future Leaders Internship scheme, which is a 9-week placement in one of the departments at British Airways. My placement is in the Baggage department, based at Terminal 5. As an intern, there are some routine tasks that I assist with, but the bulk of my role includes one off projects and tasks.
What is your favourite thing about your role?
The level of involvement!
As part of baggage, you get to see all the backend work that goes into what seems like a simple task of putting bags on an aircraft. Alongside this, I also got to be a part of meetings on longer-term planning and introducing changes in the department. There was no single day where I didn’t learn or see something new.
Another one of my favourite factors was the fact that I got to call an airport terminal my ‘office’. This is the view from one of our fire assembly points.
How would you describe the graduate community at British Airways?
The graduate community at British airways is the ideal support system- professionally and socially. With a diversity of hard-working and knowledgeable individuals from different backgrounds, you get to learn so much from everyone. The community is spread across virtually all departments at BA, so you can also request to shadow or speak to a member working on something you are interested in.
Is there a task or project that you’ve worked on that has stood out to you?
My project on restructuring the way bags are transported to the aircraft from where they are temporarily stored after check-in was an extremely enjoyable one. It particularly stood out to me because it involved collaborating with all the stakeholders- specially the people who will be using the new system- to develop something that suits all needs. This helped me realise how initiatives are more successful when devised collectively.
What top tips would you give to students wanting to follow in your footsteps?
Be clear about what it is that you want to achieve, but always keep an open mind. There is place at BA for everyone, not just those interested in aviation. Think about how you can utilise what you are personally skilled at, or passionate about, to bring about a change at BA. Lastly, follow the path you want for yourself and not what the crowd is doing! At the start of my application season, I was confused about what exactly I wanted to do and mostly applied for internships at banks. It was only when I discovered the internship opportunity at BA that I realised my interests are different from what everyone else is pursuing.