Gurnaik Chahal

I chose Heathrow Airport due to its strong reputation as one of the world’s busiest airports.

Heathrow plays a vital role in society as it supports millions of passengers flying through its airports every year, contributes over billions of pounds worth of economic output, and provides significant scale employment, enabling the UK to compete in the globalised economy.

It has been a challenging time recently for the aviation industry with the pandemic. When I joined Heathrow on the Graduate programme at the end of 2019, we were gearing up for expansion by adding a third runway after nine consecutive years of growth. However, passenger numbers in 2020 were almost a quarter of what they were in 2019, and Heathrow suffered substantial financial losses.

But it has been a good learning experience to help the business adapt to such an unprecedented fall by restructuring and successful management initiatives. I am excited to be part of Heathrow’s recovery and to build back stronger. 

My first placement was in the Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) team. I believe this was a great place to start as I was able to overview all the areas of Finance at Heathrow, which helped my understanding. I was involved in producing the monthly performance report, which analyses the company’s financial performance over the month to what we have previously budgeted or forecasted. This allows the exec team and board to make financial, strategic, and operational decisions to help improve the business.

My final placement has been in Commercial Finance. I have enjoyed going in depth into our revenue and getting under the skin of the numbers to provide variance analysis, which I have enjoyed. I am currently modelling different scenarios for the pricing of our 2022 aeronautical charges (movements, parking, passenger fees, etc.). The proposals will then be shared with airlines for consultation before being finalised.

I have developed my analytical and excel skills whilst working in Finance at Heathrow. It is also essential to be organised and have good time management as there are many deadlines during month-end that need to be kept. I have enjoyed business partnering and providing those outside Finance with figures and data relevant for improving their business area. I have also had the opportunity to present in important meetings with senior people, significantly improving my confidence.

Heathrow recognises that to stay ahead in the industry, they need to invest in human capital. They can attract the brightest talent and nurture them to become future leaders. I was encouraged to apply due to the excellent work environment and culture.  

The Finance graduate scheme at Heathrow provides fantastic training, with key rotations and support for professional qualifications (such as CIMA or ACCA). The two-year programme allowed me to make an impact and have responsibility early on.