Interview with David Savile, CEO, AirPartner

For a man who has 28 years experience in the Aircraft Charter markets, David Savile interestingly takes a keen interest in all things image and design. He has spent the last 25 of those years with Air Partner plc. With 20 offices spanning Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia, and listed on the London Stock Exchange, Air Partner has been in operation for 45 years and is the only aviation company with a Royal Warrant granted by HM Queen Elizabeth II.

And as I trundle down to Gatwick to meet with him, I wonder to what extent David is employing the Power of Image within the business. The signs are there... Air Partner is investing in Image Consulting for their JetCard executives and for the first time in their history, used an external agency to create a new brand identity and personality for this, their 18 month-young Jet Membership product.

Today, Air Partner looks after Governments & Royal Families across the world, along with world statesmen, and stars of stage, TV, film and the music world. Underneath the glitz, the bulk of its business comes from the everyday corporations who use ad hoc aircraft charter on a regular basis to help them do business globally.

"40% Of our business traditionally comes from the government sector, 55% from the corporate sector and we identified that our growth market was in the private jet arena... Our company ethos is one of transparency and that's where we started in creating JetCard."

"We recognised that along with a considerable investment, we needed to create a fresh approach... to employ the best in this field, concentrate on building high-level relationships and for the first time, we retained an external agency to build the brand... We are now investing in Image Consultancy for our key executives - ensuring that our brand and our people are congruent."

The results speak for themselves with JetCard already profitable and the recent acquisition of Gold Air. And going forward, what's on the cards?
"Air Partner is re-branding this Summer and is creating Air Partner Private Jets (together with our airline division becoming Air Partner Commercial Jets). The driver for creating the 2 sub brands is to link together our 6 separate private jet products under one private jet identity. As a company with a diverse product range and diverse client base, our unique capabilities are already well known; the downside of this is that we are sometimes perceived as generalists not specialists... The creation of APPJ allows us to focus on one strand of our business, and use the Power of Image to convey a total focus and commitment to one specific luxury market."

"In creating APPJ we are investing in our brand to raise the perception of what is already a fine product, in being perceived as a stand-alone luxury private jet company, under the umbrella of a powerful and financially strong parent. Investing in our brand requires investment in creativity, design, and Image Consultancy to ensure we are fully consistent in all our various communications and media."