The Hampshire cricket squad are benefitting from Air Partners’ sports travel expertise, particularly the generous luggage allowance and local airport departures

Air Partner rebrands Cabot Aviation

Cabot Aviation, the aircraft sales arm of global brokerage Air Partner, has been re-branded to form the Air Partner aircraft remarketing division. Originally acquired in May 2015, it will continue to operate out of the head office at London Gatwick airport. There will be no change to day-to-day activities.

Air Partner CEO Mark Briffa says: “We have been pleased with Cabot’s performance since it came on board and it has become an integral part of the Air Partner family. This move is the next logical step for us as we grow our brand and extend our customer offering in line with our strategy to build a world-class aviation services group.”

Chairman to step down

Non-executive chairman Richard Everitt will not be standing for re-election at the company AGM in June. He has achieved 12 years as a non-executive director, including five years as chairman. The search for a replacement is under way.

Year end trading statement

Trading in the second half of its financial year ended 31 January 2017 and has remained in line with expectations. The group continues to assess investment opportunities, both organic and acquisitions, as part of its strategy to increase earnings from more predictable sources and build a broader aviation services group.

Show goes on for German orchestra

The company came to the rescue of German orchestra travel manage-ment company Luxreisen when a snow storm in New York led to the cancellation of the Bamberg Symphony orchestra’s scheduled flight to Daytona, Florida. The German office located a suitable Boeing 737-800, operated by Eastern Air Lines, which was able to fly the orchestra out just eight hours later. The smaller instruments accompanied the musicians as hand luggage, while the larger ones were transported down to Florida by van before the storm started.

Automotive charter

Air Partner company also set wheels in motion for two car launches at the start of the year, flying regional CEOs and European sales people to Spain for the launch of the BMW 5 Series and the Mini Countryman. BMW needed to get 6,390 guests to Barcelona from Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, while 1,280 Mini guests from Germany and the inner regions of Spain were due in Bilbao.

Air Partner’s German team organised the prominent display of BMW and Mini logos on the check-in screens at all the departure airports, and VIP catering for many of the flyers. Each of the 52 BMW and 24 Mini flights was decked out in full brand regalia, with the respective logos on the headrest covers.

Sporting partnerships

The company has collaborated with UK professional rugby club Sale Sharks to become one of its official sponsors and will be supporting the club’s travel requirements. Last month the company arranged the team’s return flight from Manchester to Toulon, France, for a European Rugby Champions Cup fixture against RC Toulon.

Briffa comments: “Air Partner knows that it is the details that really matter, whether it’s providing an on-board physiotherapist, arranging bespoke catering for players’ dietary requirements or maximising branding opportunities.”

The company has also teamed up with Smile Group Travel, a tour operator specialising in sports travel, to organise return flights to Barbados for three UK county cricket clubs. The teams from Hampshire, Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire are heading to the Caribbean island for their pre-season tour, which will consist of training and a number of friendly matches against local teams.

Trading manager Katie Daw says: “We work with a number of travel operators that rely on us to provide customised and compre-hensive solutions to their clients’ flying requirements. Every project is different and our team works around the clock to ensure that specific requests are met – in this case, making sure the clubs have a big enough luggage allowance for all their kit.”