Luis Barros, founder of Horizon Air Charter, intends to focus on charters and clients

Horizon Air Charter launches in the US

Luis Barros has launched his new business, Horizon Air Charter, from its base in Dallas. He began his business aviation career working in dispatch for a large Part 135 operator in the American midwest, and now Barros says he approaches every new client, trip and detail with a focus on operation and safety prior to selling.

“From the beginning, I realised that the quickest way to lose respect in this industry was to act like sales came before aviation,” he explains. “I heard people say 'I don't care about the technical stuff, I can sell anything,' and I immediately thought that was as backward as it sounded. People want to work with professionals who are true experts, not someone who's just good at taking your money.”

Having worked in every area of charter business and having learned from experienced aviation professionals, Barros then branched out into end-user sales. He says: “As many aviation brokers can attest, the learning curve is steep and can pose a great number of problems, especially without the operational know-how to back up any amount of sales talk. Then came the great recession. It was a challenge, but one that I could not truly have succeeded without. That time taught me how to create something from nothing.”

The driving force behind the creation of Horizon Air Charter is a focus on charters and clients – a simple concept, but one which Barros feels can often be lost when attempting to do too much: “Since announcing the new company, I have had great support from many in the industry who I have had the privilege to get to know personally over the years.”

Barros continues: “Any broker is familiar with the terms transparency, best practice, client retention and accountability, but finding a broker and a firm that truly commits to all of these in every day practice is much more unique. Horizon Air Charter has become a Wyvern Registered Broker and is using third party scoring and survey systems to ensure consistent good service for the end-user.

Barros recounts how things have moved on since the early days: “Looking back to the day I was handed an old flip phone and told to 'figure it out, good luck,' to seeing where I am now, having trained teams who perform at an expert level, that's what I want Horizon to be about. It is the embodiment of years of refinement, and of only accepting the very best in policy, personnel and leadership.”

Beginning with a small but expert set of charter brokers, a marketing support team and a few dedicated investors, Barros says: “Horizon Air Charter is determined to become the varsity level purveyor of charter aviation for knowledgeable flyers.”