In the Cabin with...
Lewis Hope: Senior Account Manager for Group Charter
Whether you’re looking to charter flights for your group simply from point A to B, or if you require a complex shuttle program, Air Partner’s 60 years of aviation experience ensures our experts deliver seamless group charter flight solutions - no matter the destination, group size or complexity. Meet the team who go above and beyond to deliver our clients the best service possible.
We sat down with Lewis Hope, Senior Account Manager for Group Charter UK to discuss his most memorable charter experiences and glean valuable insights from his seven years working in the aviation sector.
Can you tell us about your role at Air Partner?I joined Air Partner in 2017 in a graduate scheme and progressed to the role of Senior Account Manager in our Group Charter team. My role involves day-to-day charter broking, business development, and mentoring junior colleagues as they develop their client portfolio. What key industries do you serve?
We serve a wide variety of industry sectors, but I particularly enjoy working on complex and time-critical itineraries which is where Air Partner really excels. This could be a multi-sector pre-season tour for a major sports club or a managing a complex multi-charter project for a major film production requiring to-the-minute punctuality across several days. How long have you worked in private aviation?I joined Air Partner immediately after finishing my degree in 2017. My final Air Partner interview was the day after my final university exam – no rest for the wicked!Why did you choose a career in aviation? I grew up in the aviation world having a long family connection to industry going back to my grandfather who was a founder of Caledonian Airways, one of the world’s first independent charter airlines. Working in the industry always felt like a natural choice to me. What is your favourite aircraft and why?The B737MAX – it’s been in the news for the wrong reasons at times but from a charter perspective its really handy when you need to fly small groups a very long way. What do you enjoy most about working in aircraft charter?By far it must be travelling to interesting and far-away places for work. Dealing with people on the other side of the world with a different language and culture who I would otherwise never meet and then working together to achieve the same goal – successfully operating a charter flight!During your time spent working in aviation, what changes have you seen within Air Partner?Air Partner has changed immensely; when I first joined the focus was on chartering for a group of core industries and since then we’ve expanded to a truly global company with major developments in our product offering not only within charter but also the consultancy side of the business too.What is the real strength of Air Partner?Our front-line brokers and the infrastructure around them. The collective experience of our charter brokers is industry leading and the support and training infrastructure we’ve built for developing junior brokers can’t be found anywhere else.What is your philosophy for delivering exceptional service to your customers?Be the first to react, ask for as much information as possible, and then be very proactive. Truly understanding your customer needs and staying close to our airline partners is always a successful formula to finding the right charter solution for them.Tell us about your first charter.It was short hop for a Maltese football club in the early rounds of the Champions League. I remember the client sent confirmation in the late evening and I immediately called the carrier’s 24/7 Ops team pleading with them to block the aircraft. They just laughed and asked me to call back in the morning!What advice do you have for companies looking to charter aircraft? I always recommend the private terminal option, if available. A disorganised public terminal can really put a downer on a flight experience whereas you can be through a private terminal and onboard your aircraft in minutes.
