I was a very young lawyer when I joined the airline industry. In fact, barely three months from being called to the bar as an advocate.

I was surprised that I was the successful candidate, especially that I knew that I was among people who were way more senior than I was.

At my first meeting with my direct report who was on the panel of interviewers, he immediately put me out of my “misery” and told me that the company chose me because I matched what they were looking for; someone green enough to learn and grow in the industry to become an aviation lawyer. He explained that experience in aviation was not weighted heavily because of the scarcity of the same among lawyers in the country and therefore, they were looking for other attributes to assist them in arriving at a successful candidate.

I was humbled at the prospect and in high gear to learn the industry and become of optimal use to my employers. I was given learning curve time and quickly settled down.

I discovered that the aviation business is highly regulated, both domestically and internationally. I was exposed to the world of airline associations, travel associations, associations of regulators and so on. It was interesting to delve in the areas of aero politics, aircraft maintenance and operations, air spaces, airports, insurance, international conventions, hospitality, to mention but a few.

I also learnt that the business requires high liquidity and is capital intensive. Fiscal discipline and cash flow management are also critical success factors to the operations of an airline.

Further, the reputation of the business is a critical success factor as issues of safety, hospitality and punctuality can quite easily put the company out of business.

My first experience with Management Meetings was at the airline and it was an exciting place to be. You could appreciate the business from a 360 degrees angle as all the departments of the business were represented and gave almost up to the minute status on the activities of flight operations, cabin operations, aircraft maintenance, ground operations, navigation, aero politics, marketing, sales, finance, administration, regulatory matters and so on.

From the perspective of work ethic, I am still in awe at the fact that I was taught how to review documents with a fine-tooth comb by a person who was not a lawyer! I thank the fine gentleman who was my immediate report for the experience. One of the first agreements I reviewed was the sale and purchase of an aircraft engine…exciting, eye opening journey of thorough interrogation! I was taught how to feel comfortable about being constructively suspicious about a draft document as a way of getting the best for your organisation/client.

My initiation to concepts such as “let’s do this”, “make it happen”, “a deal is a deal”, “cut your losses” and “know when to stay or walk out of a negotiation” are fondly from my experience in this industry. I was taught never to waste time and approach matters with all my faculties fully engaged.

To date, I use this experience at different times in my career and thank all that were in it with me.