FLY4 Airlines is making strides in developing the next generation of aviation professionals through its innovative internship programme. The programme, which launched alongside the airline’s operations in 2024, offers ambitious aviation students the opportunity to gain hands-on cross-functional experience in one of Europe’s most dynamic new airlines.
Meet Rory Farrell and Edwin Ramos; the first interns employed by FLY4, who joined the airline in June 2024. Both pursuing Aviation Management degrees at Dublin City University (DCU), they represent the calibre of talent the airline seeks to nurture. Their experiences showcase how FLY4’s commitment to its core values – purpose, passion, people, and performance – extends to developing future industry leaders.
Rory Farrell works within the Finance department, where he has taken on varied responsibilities. Having been passionate about Aviation since he was young, Rory notes that “When exploring Internship opportunities, I was unsure whether the Finance sector would be an area that I would pursue in the long-term. However, since joining Fly4, which has given me ownership for varied work within both Finance and with other departments, such as Commercial, my interest has peaked and driven me to further pursue a career in this sector”. Rory’s advice for anyone pursuing an internship, based on his experience is, “don’t be frightened if you are going into an internship in an area you are not sure on, and don’t put pressure on yourself to have everything achieved within a certain timeline. You may be surprised to find out that you have an interest and skill in that area as the internship progresses”.
Edwin Ramos, working within the Engineering and Maintenance team, brings a rich aviation heritage to his role. “Aviation has always been part of my life. With my father’s side of the family serving in the Philippine Air Force, their stories and experiences showed me that aviation was the right path for me,” Edwin explains. His decision to join FLY4 was strategic: choosing FLY4 as it was a start-up, providing the best learning opportunities.
As an Aviation Analyst, Edwin spends approximately 75-80% of his time working within the Engineering and Maintenance department, whilst also collaborating with commercial and finance teams. His proudest achievement thus far has been developing a comprehensive suite of delay analysis dashboards using Tableau. With limited experience of Tableau prior to joining, this was a project that required Edwin to learn new skills and develop a detailed understanding of operational aspects of the business.
What sets FLY4’s internship programme apart is its emphasis on cross-functional exposure. Both interns regularly collaborate with various departments at all levels of the organisation, gaining a holistic understanding of airline operations. “We’ve definitely been treated as members of the team, not just as interns who joined 4 or 5 months ago. We feel like we’ve been here from the beginning,” shares Rory.
The programme typically runs from May/June to December, with opportunities for part-time work during other periods. This flexibility allows interns to balance their professional development with academic commitments. Importantly, it’s a paid programme, reflecting FLY4’s commitment to investing in emerging talent.
Looking ahead, FLY4 plans to make this a regular annual programme, creating pathways for aviation students to transition into full-time roles within the organisation. The airline’s approach to intern development combines formal orientation with extensive on-the-job learning, all under the guidance of experienced line managers who provide regular feedback and coaching.
Commenting on the internship programme, Jochen Schnadt – CEO at FLY4 Airlines said, “Rory & Edwin have embraced any and every challenge. Being a young organisation ourselves, we were not quite sure how this would all work out, but the entire FLY4 team have watched their progress in the last 6 months, and we’re excited to see their growth as they continue to learn and develop. Within our FLY4 Values, ‘Passion’ was the value that resonated with them most and they have demonstrated the passion they have for their own development and for FLY4 on a daily basis.
“Being digital natives, their contributions thus far have been significant. Both Edwin and Rory have been instrumental in helping us build an Operations Dashboard, providing us with hugely valuable MI in the business. From gathering the requirements for this dashboard from the various stakeholders, to then translating these requirements into valuable intel, validating and matching it to available data feeds, building the actual dashboard itself and finally testing and verifying the accuracy of the output has been an incredible effort by them and is highly valued by people right across the entire business.”
FLY4 has been very proud to progress the relationships with Rory and Edwin to the next stage, and they both plan to continue on a part-time basis with FLY4 whilst completing their final studies at DCU, from January-2025. Both Rory and Edwin cite the company’s passionate culture as a standout feature, with Edwin noting, “Everyone here is dedicated to making the business successful. This is reflected in the number of highly experienced professionals who are choosing to join FLY4. It speaks for itself.”
As FLY4 continues to grow its fleet of Boeing 737-800NGs and expand its ACMI services across Europe and beyond, its internship programme stands as a testament to the airline’s investment in the future of aviation. The airline will welcome further applications in May-2025 for its second year of the programme. Through meaningful projects, cross-functional exposure, and genuine integration into the team, FLY4 is helping to shape the next generation of aviation professionals.