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When Virgin Express orders ground-handling services or airplane parts, Driss Abied of accounts payable must make sure all invoices are paid on time. We catch up with 27-year-old Mechelen native, who’s also worked in reservations and accounts receivable, about his work
What brought you to Virgin Express?
I always wanted to work for an airline, and my brother, who had been working at Virgin Express as cabin crew, told me about the good atmosphere here. I like travelling, and employees can fly almost for free. That’s a really good benefit. I applied for a job in accounting but at the time there was no vacancy so I spent the first six months working in reservations.
What did that job entail?
Dealing with reservations, answering the phones and providing good customer service. I took about 150 phone calls every day in Dutch, French, English and Spanish.
What do you do if you receive calls from difficult customers?
You try always to find the best solution for both customers and for the company. After six months there was an opening in accounts receivable so I applied and got the job.
What did accounts receivable involve?
Virgin Express is a non-IATA company so we do our billing ourselves. So it involves checking billing and contacting travel agencies – I was in contact with agencies in Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg and a little bit of France, so I had a big market to cover. Overseeing money coming in, which means checking payments against bills. If there is ever a problem also try to find out why and to solve it.
Was the job what you expected it to be?
In the beginning I expected it to be boring and routine, but at accounts receivable every day was different, with different problems and dealing with different agencies. That makes the job interesting. After two years I applied for and got a job in accounts payable.
How is accounts payable different to accounts receivable?
Accounts payable is the opposite – it’s working with vendors rather than working with clients. For example, we order airplane parts, ground-handling services and fuel. We have to make sure that the invoices are paid on time. I think accounts payable is sometimes more challenging, because I’m the only one in the department. I’m busy the whole day.
What do you like most about your job?
The atmosphere. It’s really what keeps people here. You have also to be here sometimes ten hours a day, more than at home, so it’s important to enjoy what you do.
Will your job change due to the merger between SN Brussels Airlines and Virgin Express?
I currently work two or three days a week at the SN Brussels Airlines building and from October or November we will probably be in the same building. They have a group of five people in accounts payable, but they also have more airplanes. They work with SAP accounting system, so we switched over to that from Navision in January, which was difficult at first, but two and a half months later everything seems to be okay. But I know our business and have contacts, so we’ll learn from each other.
What do you do in your spare time?
I am a point guard in a second-division amateur basketball team in Mechelen. If we finish our season well, we have the chance to move up into the first division.
What Virgin Express destination do you especially like?
My wife Kadija and I enjoy travelling to Barcelona, which is a big city with a lot of shops. I also like the culture and once visited the football stadium during a practice and collected a lot of autographs.
What do you like visiting in Brussels?
Kinepolis cinema, the Atomium and Mini-Europe. I also like a little Moroccan restaurant near the Gare du Midi called Pasadena, which has excellent fish dishes. In Mechelen, I like visiting the St. Rombouts Cathedral, which is 96 metres tall and has no lift!
Have you learned a lot about airplanes at Virgin Express?
About mechanics no, but I’ve learnt that airplane parts and the maintenance cost a lot of money. I took a jump seat in the cockpit, which was very interesting. I admire the pilots because they have a lot of responsibility and do it very well.
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