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Busy summer is music to Air Partner's ears
UK-headquartered brokerage Air Partner has enjoyed a busy summer of music flights, kicking off with the International Music Summit in Ibiza in May and continuing with weekly flights in and out of the party island for a number of well-known performers. The team has also chartered jets for rock tours taking place all across Europe for both musicians and attendees.
One recent operation saw Air Partner organise a last-minute helicopter to fly in a well-known musician as a replacement when one of the original band members fell ill. On another occasion the team organised three private jets to fly a celebrity chef, a famous pop group and other musical maestros to a large private musical event in Tivat, Montenegro.
Overall the company has arranged 120 flights for its music industry clients this year, flying them to 90 airports across four continents. Paul Kindred, business development manager, music and entertainment, private jets, says: “It's been a great summer for the private jets team and the first half of 2016 has been particularly strong in the music and live touring sector, with a substantial increase in charter bookings and new clients. Working directly with artist management, tour managers, agents and promoters we have been flying a number of high profile DJs within the electronic dance music market throughout the season. We have helped them fulfil their hectic performance schedules, sometimes with up to four flights during a 24-hour period. We have recently successfully completed all the charter requirements for one of the world's leading rock bands during their global tour, and managed other ad hoc flights for new, upcoming artists. The global music and entertainment industry is an area of particular strategic focus for me and the team and I look forward to growing our client base even more in the coming year.”
A record six months
Air Partner has delivered strong first half trading results with gross profit of $20.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 34 per cent. The private jets department saw underlying operating profit up 56 per cent and JetCard utilisation up by 25 per cent.
The summer proved particularly busy with some 1,500 flights carried out between 1 June and 31 August. JetCard usage accounted for 52 per cent of all bookings over this period and ad hoc charter for 48 per cent. While both sport and music sectors were busy, most requests came in for the Monaco Grand Prix.
CEO Mark Briffa comments: “The group has performed well in our first six months and I am very pleased to have seen strong performances across both broking and consulting.
“Our customer focused approach is delivering results and this is evidenced by significant contract wins from both new and existing customers. We have entered the second half of the year with confidence and look forward to continuing to develop and grow our services and capabilities across the world.”
Evacuation planning appointment
Joe Halanen has been appointed emergency planning division manager and will be based in Air Partner's UK headquarters at Gatwick. Halanen has 11 years' experience in the emergency management and airline industries with local government in London, in operations management for British Airways at Heathrow and within the UK's central government in Whitehall.
Halanen says: “Many organisations operate in potentially hazardous locations and having a plan in place to rapidly evacuate staff is absolutely crucial in discharging their duty of care. I look forward to ensuring our clients are fully prepared should they find their people are in potentially dangerous situations.”
Hollywood meets horror
Air Partner has sponsored The Blood Ball, an annual Halloween-inspired event benefiting DKMS, an international not for profit organisation dedicated to the fight against blood cancer and blood disorders. The event took place at the Diamond Horseshoe at the Paramount Hotel in New York City, and featured a 'Hollywood meets horror' theme.
David McCown, senior vice president of Air Partner Private Jets in North America, says: “We are very proud to support DKMS for such an important cause. Millions of Americans and their loved ones have been impacted by blood cancer, and DKMS provides invaluable resources that can provide these patients with a second chance at life.”
