James Boyce

James Boyce completed his MBA while working as a full-time pilot for British Airways (BA) and chose The Open University for its flexibility around his irregular flight schedules. James’s entrepreneurial enthusiasm, passion for improving air travel, and determination to use his learning to benefit society, has led him to launch his new organisation, Access-air-bility. 

High flying ambitions from an early age

Although James dreamt of becoming a pilot after finishing his A-levels, his parents insisted he study for a degree alongside his pilot training. Thankfully, the synchronicity between these two paths were the inspiration to continue his studies. 

James, 30, now a Senior First Officer at British Airways, said “During my undergrad studies I discovered an interest in corporate finance and entrepreneurship. Then, shortly after I qualified as a pilot, I was flying with a Captain who recommended a few books on finance, which I found fascinating. 

I wanted to learn more about business and becoming a social entrepreneur, and it seemed to me that most successful entrepreneurs had an MBA under their belt, so it felt like the perfect qualification to complete.”

Choosing the OU’s MBA

Unfortunately, just as James decided he wanted to embark on an MBA, Covid-19 struck. Whilst the disruption to the travel industry meant that James was flying less and so had more time on his hands, the opportunity to attend a typical bricks and mortar university was out of the question. 

“I knew that even as travel restrictions were lifted and demand for air travel returned, it would be difficult to attend a traditional in-person university due to my sporadic flight schedules. I wanted my studies to be flexible and fit around my lifestyle.”

Lots of people I know had recommended The Open University and when I looked into it further, I was confident that the OU way of studying would be perfect for me. 

“This flexibility turned out to be hugely valuable when, halfway through my MBA, I was required to retrain onto a different aircraft. As any pilot will tell you, this is a big undertaking, and it completely overtakes your life for a few months, but with the OU, I was able to get about eight weeks ahead with my MBA learning before starting the aircraft conversion course.”

“It was a huge learning curve and reshaped my thinking entirely”

“When I first started the MBA, I remember feeling a large degree of imposter syndrome as I felt like all the other students already had vast amounts of management experience. Discussing business with experienced senior executives from a diverse range of industries felt daunting at first but turned out to be a huge learning curve and reshaped my thinking entirely.

Prior to starting his MBA, James had started a property management company and an online gift shop. He was able to draw on these business ventures throughout his studies and use his learning to understand what he’d improve next time. 

I realise now I have significantly improved my business acumen. With the knowledge and skills I’ve gained from the MBA, the differences between my business proposals for my original two companies versus my new organisation, Access-air-bility, are miles apart!” 

Using his MBA to improve air travel 

In the final MBA module, students are required to conduct a research project aimed at leading change in their organisation. Driven by his goal to make a positive social impact on the world, James decided to examine how the airline service that assists people with disabilities could be improved.

“Even though approximately 3,000 people per day request assistance at Heathrow alone, there really isn’t much academic research about accessible air travel, and that which does exist tends to focus on people with mobility impairments. I’ve yet to see research about the experiences of customers who are blind, deaf or have other invisible disabilities.

“Improving the accessibility of air travel would reduce some barriers to travel for people with disabilities. Although it’s a diverse segment, they are typically a very loyal customer when they have a positive travel experience, but it would also increase the number of people flying, as approximately one in four people in the UK consider themselves to have a disability.

James has since co-founded Access-air-bility, an organisation whose mission is to improve the accessibility of air travel. It aims to raise awareness of the difficulties that some people with disabilities face when they fly and to develop innovative solutions to help improve their travel experience. 

The sky is not the limit

In 2024, James was shortlisted and highly commended in the ‘Student of the Year’ category at the prestigious AMBA Awards, which recognises students who have shown exceptional career potential. James describes this as one of his proudest career highlights so far. 

Looking ahead, James intends to complete a PhD, and wants to continue his research with Access-air-bility, working with airlines, airports and People with Disabilities to add to the academic literature on accessible air travel, and develop innovative products and services that make it easier for disabled people to travel.

“Take it one module at a time”

Asked what advice he would give to those thinking about studying with the OU, James said “Just try it. You can take it one module at a time, and if it’s not for you, then “cash out” with whatever qualifications you have and walk away. You have seven years to complete the MBA from when you start your first module, so you can take as long as you need. I opted to do the MBA over three years, so I could really master the material in each module which worked great for me, but some people like to do two modules at a time.” 

And if you’re struggling, either with deadlines or workload or life commitments, speak to your tutor. I always found mine supportive, friendly and helpful.”