Desirable Characteristics of Airline Business Management Students Corresponds to the Needs of Agencies in the Aviation Industry

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to 1) study the desirable characteristics of airline business management interns and 2) suggest guidelines for the preparation of interns before entering the actual internship. The population of this study was 139 students in airline business management at a private university. In this study, the researcher collected data from the whole population by using the intern student evaluation form and the random sampling technique. The statistics were then analyzed with descriptive statistics: frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Content analysis was also used to answer the objectives of the study. The results showed that most of the students were female and were fourth-year students with desirable characteristics who received the highest average scores in all aspects. The desirable characteristics consisted of eight aspects: attitude, responsibility, punctuality, application of knowledge, job success, problem-solving, communication, and interpersonal skills. It was also found that the additional comments and suggestions from the overall Operation Supervisor indicated that students are qualified according to desirable characteristics, and the improvement, which is a small part, is in the English communication skills, information technology skills such as using computers and basic programs (Microsoft Office), and assertiveness. This study suggested the preparation of intern students before entering the actual internship as a whole, namely, taking lessons from the internship results to improve and develop the teaching and learning management of the curriculum, especially in the academic subjects, to prepare for practical experience that will be useful to future students.