Award-winning Corvinus Alumna: “I want a European-level aviation company”

The call for women-owned businesses was announced in Hungary for the second time this year, a lot of people applied, it was not easy to stand out from the competition. Congratulations on your award! How did you come to start your own company? 

I worked in Wizz Air’s airport development department for five years, in fact this job involved purchasing and sales, such as price negotiations, managing new contracts, and building and “maintaining” relationships with new airports. I loved being there, I learned to work and there was some amazing company at the company. I was already at the point where I was teaching the new ones, but at the same time I saw that this exciting job of traveling internationally, which I loved, was simply not feasible with a child. When my first baby was born, I left Wizz Air. I wanted to have my own business, I thought it was be more compatible with motherhood. But I also realized that it would be good to continue my aviation activity, because I liked it for life. 

And that’s when László Rozgonyi and the big idea came into the picture? 

Laci Rozgonyi, an instructor pilot at the Trainer Flight Academy, which is the largest pilot training in Hungary, was already an old friend of mine. Laci told me that the software used to assess the suitability of pilot training applicants at Wizz Air is technically outdated, it does not filter applicants effectively, and there is a high drop-out rate. By the way, Laci wrote his thesis about a new career aptitude exam and said that he knows very well what to do, but he simply does not have the capacity or time to do so, as the matter would have to be managed. Then came the big idea: let’s create a company for the three of us, since we have everything we need: there is expertise and there is programming knowledge – it is a very fortunate circumstance that my sister, Adél, recently retrained herself from finance to programmer, and she was in the mood for it. It was also important that my daughter had already turned one year old, so I thought that this way I could deal with her as much as I wanted and I also can take the job. This is how TestAir360 Kft. was born in 2020, of which I became the managing director. 

And what does your software know better than other ones, what makes it special? 

When compiling the test, we take into account local characteristics, i.e. classical academic knowledge and qualities that are really necessary to become a pilot. It is not good for the applicant for pilot training, nor for the training institution, the airline, if the test does not filter well, this is also a financial loss. After completing the test, we will give a real prognosis about whether the applicant will be able to complete pilot school. We rank the result on a scale of ten, for example, the average applicant will be able to complete the training with a little help. 

Ours is currently the only test that provides AI-powered remote monitoring during the exam without the need for the examiner to travel to the site. This means that the program is able to check that there is no cheating, for example, two people sitting in front of a screen when taking the career aptitude test. 

Pilot training is not cheap… 

The student costs 60,000 euros for the training, the price of an apartment, but there are many financing options, such as the Hungarian Student Loan 2 or Wizz Air Pilot Academy Program. Another advantage of our software is the technological background and the fact that a new exam can be put together from it at any time, according to the customer’s needs.  

You also broke into the Italian market. 

Yes, Italians asked for mathematics, physics and English to be very emphasized in the test. This is easy to solve. We pay attention to every detail, for example, you can set how long a part of a question should be visible on the screen.  

Are you satisfied with the situation of the company now? 

Yes, fortunately, we are growing, doubling revenue year after year, targeting new clients. 

What does the award you won mean to you? 

In addition to the great joy, the financial part is also great, as it allows us to travel to Portugal for the EATS Training Symposium at the beginning of November, where all European pilot schools will be present, so we can acquire new customers and build relationships. Thanks to the award, we will be able to be there, we will have our own stand at this expo (it will be in Cascais, south of Lisbon). The exam test will run there on the monitor, and those interested will also be able to solve a coordination task with VR glasses. 

What schools did you go through to get here? 

I completed my bachelor’s degree – tourism and hospitality – here at Corvinus and my master’s degree in Lancaster. In Hungary, the expectations were very high in the undergraduate program, and I remember that micro- and macroeconomics were taken extremely seriously, and this was very good for me. The two universities together were somehow a very good combination, I learned to learn and think. 

You also won OTP Bank’s special prize, what does this mean in practice? 

Mentoring, which is very useful. András P. Tóth is the mentor, I learn a lot from him. 

How are you doing with running a company and now with two young children, ages 3 and 5? Can this be reconciled without remorse? 

I don’t think there is a mother who never has remorse. But I feel like I’m doing well, because I get a lot of family help, and my husband – who is a professional by the way – is involved also in raising children and doing chores at home, it wouldn’t be any other way. I think we are making good progress in terms of equality and the division of labour in families, and this is actually also an educational task. I also find it very important that in a relationship one partner takes a step back from time to time, because the other person has an important time in his or her work at that time. It’s mutual for us. Otherwise, I go to pick up the children in kindergarten almost every day, and then off we go to the playground. Now we’re at the point where I can answer SOS emails on the playground. Of course, all this requires immense flexibility. 

Don’t you feel disadvantaged as a woman in your career? 

I honestly say no. I have never encountered negative discrimination before, I have not experienced discrimination with the companies I negotiate with. 

Finally, how do you envisage the situation of your company in five to ten years? 

My dream is for TestAir360 to become a European-level aviation company, to support more people, and of course to gain international recognition. 

Török Katalin