It’s 9.10am and the office, on the 5th floor of a modern high rise building in Barcelona’s emerging tech district, is already bustling with energy.

The first thing greeting visitors coming into Newshore’s office are several blue signs with place names: “Barcelona”, “Colombia”, “Moscow”...a list that highlights the international scope of the work being done here for airlines all over the globe.

It is, actually, the borderless, global nature of the airline technology industry, of which Newshore is a case in point, that acts as a powerful draw for many talented professionals looking to develop an international career in software and technology.

“This is an extremely interesting industry to work in” explains Enric Puig, Newshore’s CEO.

“First of all, it is growing, steadily and without pause, IATA estimates that worldwide passenger numbers will double between now and 2036, which gives you an idea of the opportunity we are facing. But, for someone like us, operating in the field of technology, there are even more interesting news: this is an industry that is still riddled with legacy inefficiencies that are waiting to be fixed. The potential that can be unlocked through innovation is just enormous!”

Airlines have always been early technology adopters, in fact, technology has come to play such an essential role in the operation of any airline that they would source the best ideas and expertise from anywhere in the World...

This is why international travel features prominently in the agenda of some members of Team Newshore.

Alfredo Garcia, who has been leading Newshore’s international expansion, spends a big deal of time visiting customers all over the globe, from Hong Kong and Russia to Latin America. “You need first to engage the customer and learn as much as possible about his circumstances and requirements, you need to know what is going on in the industry...what’s hot and what’s not. You must then use your creativity to find the best solution. It helps that you can count on a talented team to turn these ideas into a reality. It is challenging and rewarding” explains Alfredo.

Technical skills are, of course, highly valued, for example, .NET programmers are particularly in demand, but, in order to thrive in this environment the ability to think laterally and out of the box is also a must.

“We focus on the distribution side of airline technology, helping airlines engage with their customers to sell more tickets and ancillaries. This is, easily, the coolest segment of our industry, the one where you can get wildly creative and implement new ideas” highlights Enric Puig.

Newshore is, in fact, a “pocket multinational”, sharing most of the attributes of large transnational corporations, but having at least one element that sets it apart from more conventional consultancy firms operating in this market: its readiness to adapt to talent whenever there is potential for a win-win arrangement.

Originally from China, Chen Mingjian joined Newshore with a degree in computer science from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, in Barcelona. In less than a year he has already had the chance to work, as a full stack developer, in two key projects in a really hot area of airline technology: alerts, notifications and automated disruption management. One of the things he really values of his work at Newshore is the flat structure “you can talk to anyone in the company you need to, even the CEO. There produces a really good vibe”

Chen is not the only example of how the right skill set and, above else, the right attitude, can go a really long way at Newshore...those that take on the challenge can expect to grow professionally really fast!

All of this may sound great so far, but, let’s say you are looking to build your career in this extremely dynamic airline technology industry. What can you expect?

Find out in our next post...