2015 40 Under 40: Van Constantine

Van Constantine: Small But Mighty

Customer Service Manager
Landmark Aviation

Age: 36

Years in Aviation: 9

Did you know?

Though 4 foot 11 inches tall and 80 pounds, Constantine’s customers normally call her “Minivan.”

Van Constantine’s career in aviation began as an anomaly. Coming straight from Vietnam nine years ago, she started her new life as a newlywed in the United States shortly after Hurricane Katrina. Constantine’s husband, who was working on his private pilot’s license at Lakefront Airport in New Orleans, took her for a visit to the FBO--Million Air. Million Air was operating out of a trailer at that time, with many of its hangars still not rebuilt and a lot of the infrastructure in disarray. However, it was this curiosity that connected Constantine to General Manager Addie Fanguy and Customer Service Manager Laura Booth. A customer service position was open at that time, and Constantine was offered the job despite having very little experience in aviation. She accepted the position and was hired by Million Air on her third visit to the FBO. Working in an FBO was challenging because of the aviation terminology, her accent and culture, even with a college degree in business. Constantine began reading aviation magazines, going out on the ramp to learn about aircrafts and taking computer-based training courses. At the same time, Constantine was studying American history and government to prepare for her Naturalization Test to become a U.S. citizen. Learning about America and its culture also enabled her to communicate with pilots easier. Three years after that she passed her test and became a U.S. citizen. With great training from her managers, tremendous support from line service technicians and different corporate pilots, Constantine learned quite a bit that helped advance her career. Landmark Aviation then purchased Odyssey (formally Million Air), and a year after that she was promoted to her current role as customer service manager. She says she takes this role seriously because it’s “crucial to build up customer rapport because there are only 8000 jets in the United States. If you lose a customer, it may take as long as a year to win them back. Aviation is a very small tight-knit community.”