Also called: Route Planner, Network Strategy Analyst, Fleet Planner
Decides which cities an airline flies to, how often, and with which aircraft.
You crunch data on how many people fly from Denver to Lisbon and what competitors charge, then build a schedule that keeps planes and crews busy. When your team announces a new route, it's because you made the case for it.
Estimated; directors at major airlines earn more.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 5 years after high school. Bachelor's in economics, operations research, math, or business; many have master's degrees.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Economics, Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, Business Analytics.
Growing about average. Small, competitive field inside airlines.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. AI optimizers now build schedules and test routes; fewer junior planners, with strategy calls kept human.
Classes: AP Statistics, AP Economics, AP Calculus.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.