About the Role
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As a Sr. Business Development Manager – Airline Partnerships (Europe), you will own and grow a portfolio of strategic airline relationships across Europe, driving both revenue and margin performance within Hopper’s ecosystem.
You will play a critical role in shaping Hopper’s airline distribution strategy across NDC, GDS, and direct partnerships, working closely with leading European carriers such as Lufthansa Group, IAG, Air France‑KLM, and Turkish Airlines.
This is a high‑impact, commercially driven role where you act as the primary interface between Hopper and airline partners, balancing relationship management, negotiation, and performance optimisation.
Responsibilities
- Own and manage a portfolio of European airline partnerships with a P&L mindset.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for commercial, distribution, and operational topics.
- Build strong, senior‑level relationships across airline sales, distribution, and revenue teams.
- Develop and execute strategies to increase top‑line revenue (TTV) and improve unit economics (margin per booking).
- Analyse performance across channels (NDC vs GDS), fare mix, and ancillary attachment rates.
- Lead negotiations for new agreements, contract renewals, and extensions.
- Drive improved commercial terms, including base commissions, sector rebates/incentives, and marketing funds (MDF).
- Identify and act on opportunities to optimise under‑performing partnerships.
- Develop deep expertise in airline distribution, NDC, EDIFACT, aggregators, and European airline strategies.
- Translate industry trends into actionable strategies for Hopper.
- Partner cross‑functionally with Product, Growth/Marketing, and Finance to align strategies and model deals.
- Track KPIs including revenue, margin, incentive attainment, and mix of fare families and ancillaries.
- Lead Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) with airline partners and build data‑driven narratives and recommendations.
Qualifications
- 6+ years of experience in airline distribution, OTA, TMC, GDS, or airline partnership roles in European markets (Middle East and North Africa a plus).
- Proven track record of managing strategic accounts, negotiating commercial agreements, and driving measurable revenue growth.
- Strong understanding of airline distribution (NDC vs GDS), fare structures, ancillaries, and airline economics.
- Revenue‑plus‑margin mindset, with experience handling incentives, rebates, and performance‑based deals.
- Excellent presentation, storytelling, and influencing skills.
- Advanced knowledge of German, Spanish, or French is a plus.
- Highly organised, self‑driven, and able to operate in a fast‑paced, high‑growth environment.
Perks and Benefits
- Competitive salary and pre‑IPO equity packages.
- Hopper covers 100% of employee premiums for group insurance through Vitality Health.
- Automatic contributions to a Smart Pension plan.
- Generous parental leave above industry standards.
- Access to co‑working spaces on demand and a work‑from‑home stipend.
- Carrot cash travel stipend.
- Unlimited PTO.
- Entrepreneurial culture where taking risks and pushing limits is everyday business.
- Open communication with management and company leadership. xwzovoh
- Small, dynamic teams that generate massive impact.
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