Interview to Pablo Núñez

Today I have the pleasure to bring you an interview with Pablo Núñez Crespí, an aeronautical engineer who is currently working for “Globalia Mantenimiento Aeronáutico”, a company aimed to fix and keep fit planes, located in Palma de Mallorca. Let’s go then! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did and I am pretty sure you will learn something.

Q: Good morning Pablo, what was your path until you reach such an important job in such a great aerospace company?

A: Long story I will try to shorten: After different jobs out of this business (like teacher or consultant) I finally had an offer to be in charge of a base for a small airline in the north of Spain. A year after I had an interview in the University with the Technical Director of Air Europa. He was actually recruiting Senior Engineers for the Engineering department of Air Europa, and after knowing my experience offered me to start in the hangar as a mec (in fact, a helper) and improve my skills in aircraft maintenance to become later a Team Leader. Two years after that I became Production Manager.

Q: What is your duty nowadays on it?

A: I am responsible of line and heavy maintenance, in terms of planning the required human resources and been lean in the use of them to obtain the maximum benefit for every maintenance action.

Q: Do you feel very important to have a communication education in order to work?

A: Of course. Communication is always number one issue in Aircraft Maintenance.

Q: Is it necessary for you to know how to make presentations and talk in public or your job is just technical?

A: Both. Leading a team of more than one hundred and fifty people shows you how important it is to speak in public.

Q: What do you believe will be the future in aeronautics?

A: Change. There is a strong demand of lower costs to be able to offer lower fares. This is a very big issue for business where aircraft maintenance costs can be hardly lessen. Procedures, intervals and techniques can be improved, but a screw will not reduce its cost. Still there is a long way to change everybody's mind and focus in a common cost policy, because it entails not only procedure changes, but forces people to change their attitude.

Q: Finally I would like to ask you for some advice for those who, like me, are starting an engineering degree.

A: After finishing your degree you must be aware that there are still lots of things to learn, and the people that can teach those you will be no more your University teacher. It is a good habit to sit down and hear what others have to say, no matter how simple his job looks to you. "Put yourself in his position" is a good way to understand and learn about the difficulties to follow your directions. And last but not least, your background must reinforce your capability to simplify and find solutions, being the latter the most important.