Behind the wings: Sanja Rogovic, Head of Crew Support

Meet #DreamTeam member Sanja Rogovic

Head of Crew support at GlobeAir

Our #DreamTeam is made of the people who work with us. To celebrate the importance of our team members, we are releasing a series of profiles for you to get to know the people of GlobeAir. Coinciding with Women's Day 2020, we are presenting GlobeAir's Head of Crew support Sanja Rogovic.

When and how did your passion for aviation begin?

Sanja's encounter with aviation was love at first “flight”.

When I finished my MBA in Project Management, I wanted to broaden my horizons, and so I started looking for job opportunities abroad. I had no experience in the aviation industry, but the thrill of having my office up in the air made me accept a position as a member of cabin crew for Qatar Airways. Back in 2011, the love for travelling and the curiosity to discover new places opened up a whole new world for me.

"Aviation wasn't anything I had planned for, but it ended up dominating my life: paving my present and building my future." – Sanja Rogovic, Head of Crew Support at GlobeAir

Qatar Airways is where I made most of my career advancements working as a flight attendant for eight years. I have always been thirsty for knowledge; aviation is one of those fields where there is something to learn every day. The same excitement for innovation and change was also the main reason why last year, I decided to move on to business aviation and I have never regretted it since.

What’s your current role at GlobeAir?

Tell us about your experience as a #DreamTeam member

I joined GlobeAir as a Crew Support Manager last June, and I immediately felt at home in such an international and open-minded environment. Last month I was promoted to Head of Crew Support, and I am now leading a team of three. However, I like to specify that not all my team members sit in the office; all GlobeAir pilots are an integral part of my department.

Crew Support liaises with the Customer Care Team daily as selling unscheduled flights often results in sudden changes of plans for the crew. We need to be on top of those changes and provide an updated roster with all the necessary information so that our pilots can sprint to welcome our next guest on board and deliver the best travelling experience.

"It's great to be discovering BizAv with GlobeAir. Since I've made up my mind and changed my career path, I have never regretted it once" – Sanja Rogovic, Head of Crew Support at GlobeAir.

We consider ourselves GlobeAir’s professional in-house tour operator, and my goal is for the pilots to be transferring efficiently, precisely and smoothly.

Last year alone, we booked a total of 8,840 hotel nights, 2,452 airliners, 1,380 train tickets and 520 rental cars for our crew. Since the launch of our internal CSER roadmap #WeArePlanetA, I am very proud to be representing a company that considers environmentally-friendly transport options for its pilots.

Head of Crew support: the most important qualities to excel

Challenges, opportunities and your secret to be on top of your game

There are, of course, industry-specific challenges in every aviation job. Business aviation, however, is exceptionally dynamic and continuously evolving; it’s the industry that never sleeps.

We are proud to be available for inquiries or bookings 24/7, and we serve the entire world. It’s fascinating to be in contact with customers from other continents and be able to connect them with the best private jet charter provider over there. As well as this we make sure non-European flights find their preferred last-mile connection to their final destinations with GlobeAir. All things considered, the highest quality to possess when you work in the industry is being able to handle anything unexpected.

My routine to gain time includes a lot of planning. The classical technique of writing down all the important topics I should discuss with my team – as well as deadlines and priorities – help me organise both professionally and at home. A good leader should be able to identify how to prioritise tasks and use the means which are more convenient to him or her in order to achieve it. I, for example, use a traditional planner to help me stay on track.

"Crew Support is a fundamental department for an airline. We are in constant conversations with our pilots, and we take care of their roster, planning their days and taking care of their meals and hotel accommodation. We take care of their rest times and holidays, and we are available for them 24/7."

You should also be humble when it comes to accepting external suggestions and different opinions; many times these come from a different department or from somebody with a different mindset. All are worth listening to. At the end of the day, however, it's you who have to make a decision.

Supporting my team is one of my priorities. Sometimes you need to delegate and step back from micromanaging, demonstrating full trust in your team members. Also, feedback is essential; what really distinguish a successful team leader is being able to both give feedback and to accept it.

“Women in Aviation” – what does this mean for you?

Your take on the gender equality topic in BizAv

Today, both commercial and business aviation offer far more opportunities to women than ever before. However, I have a feeling that women are still somehow underrepresented. At GlobeAir, I feel respected for my skills and not my gender, and this is meaningful to me. I am happy to be contributing to increasing the percentage of women in the aviation industry, particularly in technical operations and leadership positions.

Sanja's Bio

Sanja is Croatian and has joined GlobeAir in June 2019. She holds an MSc in Healthcare Management and an MBA in Project Management. She likes travelling and spending time with family and the friends she has made all over the world during her time at Qatar Airways. She has been living in Linz since one year and she's happy with her new role as GlobeAir's Head of Crew Support.