19/03/2026
๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐น ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐น๐๐บ๐ป๐ถ, ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐.
๐ช๐ฒ ๐ต๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐น๐ ๐๐๐๐ฑ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐๐๐ฑ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐บ๐ป๐ถ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ.
Matt Browne
The School of Aviation recently had the pleasure of catching up with another of our graduates, Matt Browne. Although Matt was an extramural student, Andrew Gilbey remembers him particularly well, as he had the pleasure of working closely with him supervising his thesisโwhich explored the influence of confirmation bias on the decision making of emergency services pilotsโand teaching 3 of his course papers.
Matt graduated with the Bachelor of Aviation Management in May 2021, and then, in Nov 2022, with a Masters in Aviation, with Distinction. Matt has never been shy of hard work; throughout his time with Massey, Matt worked full-time in the industry too. While that must have been tough at times, it certainly alleviates any worries about getting the first job after graduating!
When reading through Mattโs CV, which can be found on LinkedIn, itโs hard to believe he is still in his 20โs. Matt began with Heliview Flights in Taranaki, before moving to join the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter Trust just prior to enrolling in his undergraduate degree. Then, before even completing the first year of his undergraduate studies, Matt had moved on to Christchurch International Airport as an Airport Services Coordinator. Having competed his undergraduate degree, all while continuing working non-stop, Matt then joined Air New Zealand, first as a crew Operations Controller. Then, having completed his Masters in Aviation with Distinction, moved to become a Pairing Planner, also with Air NZ. After that, never one to do things by halves, Matt joined British Airways based at Heathrow in the UK, initially as a resource planning executive, and then quickly moving to become a Network Interface Support Manager. Finally, to start off the new year, Matt has moved to the Boston Consulting Group as a senior analyst, where he is an internal expert on airline network strategy, based in Canary Wharf.
Mattโs current role can involve structuring and solving complex airline network planning problems, particularly those involving trade-offs between connectivity, utilization, profitability, and operational constraints. (Just in case any readers werenโt aware of just how large BCG - they employ in the order of 35,000 staff worldwide: Thatโs more employees than Massey has students!) Matt particularly likes working at this high level where he gets to see things that previously he wouldnโt have had access to. AS you can tell, describing Mattโs CV as having an aviation focus would be somewhat of an understatement!
When asked about life in London, Mattโs big smile says it all: He says the opportunities are endless, and travel is incredibly easy! Whether it's a weekend trip to Prague, a couple of trips back to NZ visit NZ, Montreal, and the Philippines, the world is at his fingertips โ and in between that he enjoys exploring the places in the UK such as Brighton. In the last 3 years, Matt has recorded 106 flights, several of which were long-haul business class! For someone who loves everything to do with aviation, this sounds like hitting the jackpot! And, yes, most of them were heavily discounted!
Matt credits The School of Aviation with helping him to develop how he thinks about aviation โ this was music to Andrewโs ears, as he has always been a firm believer that one of the most valuable things our programme does is help students to develop how they think, as opposed to simply amassing knowledge (although it does that too).
Matt has some words of advice for our current graduates and those thinking of enrolling: know where you want to get, but be prepared to take different ways to get there. That sounds like an enjoyable recipe for success, and it clearly has been for Matt
All of us at the School of Aviation are incredibly proud of Matt and what he has achieved โ and weโre excited to follow his continued success in the industry. All the best, Matt!
