Air Partner PLC

Type: Public Company
Address: Platinum House, Gatwick Road, Crawley, RH10 9RP, United Kingdom
Telephone: (+44 1293) 844 888
Toll Free: (888) AIR-PARTNER (888-247-7278)
Fax: (+44 1293) 539 263
Web: http://www.airpartner.com
Employees: 250
Sales: £185.78 million (2007)
Stock Exchanges: London
Ticker Symbol: AIP
Incorporated: 1961 as Airways Training Ltd.
NAIC: 481211 Nonscheduled Chartered Passenger Air Transportation; 481212 Nonscheduled Chartered Freight Air Transportation
SIC: 4522 Air Transportation - Nonscheduled

Air Partner PLC is the world's leading broker of aircraft charters. Every year it handles thousands of transactions for commercial planes ranging from business aircraft to jumbo jets. Its largest projects involve mustering dozens of airliners to ferry thousands of delegates to international product launches.

Air Partner's commercial division accounts for a majority of revenues. Much of the rest comes from private jets, with freight providing a small but growing percentage of sales. The company is also developing travel, emergency planning, and flight support businesses.

With approximately two-dozen offices in the United Kingdom and abroad, Air Partner is able to cover most of the globe on short notice. Clients include celebrities, large corporations, and government agencies. The company has responded to market developments by bringing out its own "JetCard" program, offering prepaid access to private aircraft on an hourly basis.

Founding in 1961

Air Partner PLC traces its origins to 1961, when Tony Mack, Sr., launched Airways Training Ltd., a commercial flying school for ex-RAF pilots at London's Gatwick Airport. Mack was a veteran of the Berlin Airlift and had flown international charters for Skyways Ltd. and Air Safaris Ltd. According to Air Transport World, his original investment was just £100.

The pilot training led to some air taxi work to keep the company's aircraft busy on the weekends. In the 1960s, the school owned a half-dozen light planes of the type made by Piper and Beagle Aircraft, available for £15 an hour. The fleet grew slowly over the next couple of decades, at one point including a BAe 146 commuter jet. However, in 1983 the company sold its planes to focus on brokering.

Tony Mack, Jr., son of the company founder, told the Sunday Times the business really took off after they began chartering other people's aircraft, an innovation for which he himself is credited. Many privately owned planes typically spent most of their time parked on the tarmac, and increasing their utilization unlocked a tremendous amount of value. This new business was launched in 1970 as Air London Ltd. Leadership of the company passed to the founder's son in 1979. He had spent most of his career working for his father's business, apart from a brief stint in banking.

An International Corporation

Air London began the 1980s with revenues of £1 million, according to Britain's Financial Times. In 1986 the company moved from Gatwick's original building to Mack House. During the year it also made an acquisition, buying Merlin Aviation. By 1987 annual sales were up to £5 million. Clients included celebrities, large corporations, and government agencies.

The company offered some shares to the public on the Unlisted Securities Market in November 1989. Revenues were up to £10 million. There were then just 20 employees. It snagged a listing on the London Stock Exchange in 1995. The parent company, Air London plc, was renamed Air Partner in 1999. Revenues were £74 million in the 2000 fiscal year.

Increasing profits allowed the company to bankroll new international offices. It set up its first foreign subsidiary, Paris-based Air Partner International SARL, in 1994. It originally held a majority interest in the unit, with the rest held by Claude Giunta, a veteran of Air France's charter business.

A German unit was established in mid-1997. Air Partner Inc., the U.S. subsidiary, opened in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in September 1997. It originally focused on serving the local cruise lines. By 2007, the company had 21 offices around the world.

As it grew geographically, the firm also expanded its range of services into virtually every aspect of civil aviation. A freight division was formed in 1998. Air Partner developed a specialty in evacuating corporate personnel from far-flung places whenever trouble emerged. This work came to the fore during the Gulf War. The company formalized its emergency evacuation service in 1999.

An Evolving Market

Air Partner faced a rising challenge from fractional ownership programs, which were essentially timeshares for jets. In the mid-1990s the company was part of its own joint ownership scheme, the Jet Network Company Ltd. (JetCo); this, however, proved short-lived. Several years later, in 2001, Air Partner participated in another program with British Airways that offered part owners the option of connecting flights in their own jets to the carrier's scheduled flights. This, too, was soon shuttered.

The company remained largely aloof of the fractional ownership model led by such companies as NetJets, Inc. In most cases, Air Partner maintained, it was better to charter a jet than own one. Fractional ownership was more of a "status symbol," sniffed Air Partner Managing Director David Savile. The company responded to developments in the market by bringing out its own "JetCard" membership program in July 2006. This offered prepaid access to private aircraft on an hourly basis.

Still Climbing

The argument for chartering seemed to get even better after the turn of the millennium. The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States left many people wary of flying with strangers at all, at least temporarily. The security measures and long lines that followed led to a further degradation of the commercial flying experience. There was also increased work related to military operations in the Middle East, which helped turnover peak at £191 million in 2004.

While private jet travel seemed an efficient and productive option for traveling businesspeople, in the age of Sarbanes-Oxley, it could be more embarrassing than ever to have ownership of private jets on the balance sheet. Air Partner was not limited to executive jets when it came to serving the corporate world. It had developed a particular specialty in carrying thousands of delegates to international product launches, projects that could require chartering dozens of airliners. It also put together transportation to bankers squeezing in as many destinations as possible during the lead-ins to initial public offerings.

In October 2006 business-jet operator and management company Gold Air International Ltd. was acquired from Gold Group for £4.4 million. Gold Air had annual sales of about £11 million. It had been launched by brothers David and Ralph Gold in 1985. At the time of the acquisition Gold Air had several of its own executive jets, most of them brand new, with another two on order. The purchase brought Air Partner back into the operation of its own commercial flights for the first time since 1983. Air Partner's revenues rose by a third in the 2007 fiscal year, reaching £185.8 million. The company that had been launched with £100 46 years earlier now had a market capitalization of more than £100 million.

Principal Subsidiaries

Air Partner International SAS (France; 55%); Air Partner International GmbH (Germany); Air Partner Inc. (U.S.A.); Air Partner Switzerland AG; Air Partner Travel Consultants Limited; Air Partner Srl (Italy); Air Partner Leasing Pty Limited (Australia).

Principal Divisions

Commercial Jets; Private Jets; Freight.

Principal Operating Units

Air Partner Austria; Air Partner Benelux; Air Partner Dubai; Air Partner France; Air Partner Germany; Air Partner Hungary; Air Partner India; Air Partner Italy; Air Partner Japan; Air Partner Spain; Air Partner Sweden; Air Partner Switzerland; Air Partner UK; Air Partner USA.

Principal Competitors

European Aviation Group; FlightTime; NetJets Inc.; PrivateAir Group.

Further Reading

"Air London Sets Up Two New Subsidiaries," Reuters News, August 23, 1994.

"Air Partner (AIP)," Investors Chronicle, April 13, 2007.

Bennett, Neil, "Air London International--USM Debut," Times (London), November 6, 1989.

Boschat, Nathalie, "Europe Stk Focus: Air Partner Getting Small Boost from War," Dow Jones International News, April 26, 1999.

Bray, Roger, "Private Aircraft in the Mainstream; Business Travel Jets: A Deal Between BA and a Charter Broker May Popularise Corporate Jets," Financial Times (London), Inside Track Sec., May 1, 2001, p. 15.

Bryant, Chris, "Jet Propulsion," Financial Times (London), Companies UK Sec., August 9, 2007, p. 21.

Cohen, Amon, "Corporate Customers' Loyalty Holding Firm: Charter Brokers," Financial Times (London), Survey--Corporate Aviation, December 12, 2001, p. 2.

Done, Kevin, "Air Partner Builds Up Jet-for-Leisure Business," Financial Times (London), Smaller Companies UK Sec., April 7, 2006, p. 21.

------, "Air Partner Enters Private Jet Market with Gold Air Deal," Financial Times (London), Companies UK Sec., October 12, 2006, p. 26.

------, "Air Partner in Jets for Leisure Challenge," Financial Times (London), Companies UK Sec., May 3, 2006, p. 20.

------, "Air Partner Soars on Strong Demand," Financial Times (London), Companies International Sec., October 12, 2007, p. 16.

------, "Business Aircraft Charter Orders Point to Recovery," Financial Times (London), Companies UK Sec., October 10, 2003, p. 25.

------, "Charter Switches Boost Air Partner," Financial Times (London), Companies & Finance UK & Ireland Sec., October 11, 2002, p. 25.

------, "City Rediscovers the Joy of the Private Jet," Financial Times (London), Smaller Companies UK Sec., October 7, 2004, p. 28.

------, "Demand for Emergency Rescues Lifts Air Partner," Financial Times (London), Companies & Finance UK Sec., April 17, 2002, p. 24.

------, "Strong Charter Demand Sees Air Partner Rising Rapidly," Financial Times (London), Companies UK Sec., April 5, 2007, p. 18.

------, "US Contracts Help to Lift Air Partner," Financial Times (London), Companies International Sec., April 8, 2005, p. 23.

Gimbel, Florian, "Global 'Hotspots' a Boon for Air Partner," Financial Times (London), Companies & Finance UK & Ireland Sec., October 20, 2000, p. 27.

"Government to Take Over Beagle for £1m.; First Fully Nationalized Air Building Firm," Times (London), December 13, 1966, p. 10.

Gunnion, Stephen, "Air Partner Gains Altitude As Demand for Charters Grows," Investors Chronicle, August 9, 2007.

Kavanagh, Paul, "Sky Is the Limit As Air London Spreads Its Wings," Sunday Times, February 8, 1998.

Kingsley-Jones, Max, "Charter House: Air London Is One of the Largest Business Air-Charter Brokers," Flight International, August 14, 1996.

Lee, John "Blue Skies Beckon for Air Charter Broker; My Portfolio: Profits Are Poised to Take Off at Air Partners As It Continues to Expand," Financial Times (London), Equity Markets Sec., November 11, 2000, p. 3.

Levere, Jane L., "A Way Around Air Rage: The Charter Flight," New York Times, November 26, 2000, p. BU9.

Morais, Richard C., "Flight to Safety," Forbes, May 29, 2000, p. 166.

"Pilots 'Wait a Month' for Flying Tests; Shortage of Examiners May Cut B.E.A. Recruiting," Times (London), March 6, 1967, p. 3.

Prynn, Jonathan, "Air London Aims to Fly High in US," Evening Standard, April 29, 1998, p. D34.

Reed, Arthur, "Busy Broker," Air Transport World, January 1, 1999.

Rigby, Elizabeth, "Air Partner's Business Takes Off," Financial Times (London), Companies & Finance UK & Ireland Sec., October 11, 2001, p. 24.

Sarsfield, Kate, "VIP 747 Sale Fills Concorde Niche," Flight International, November 21, 2000, p. 31.

Shelley, Toby, "Air Partner Hit by Pre-War Lull," Financial Times (London), Companies & Finance UK & Ireland Sec., January 8, 2003, p. 22.

"Smaller Companies: Analysis: Air London Rides the Gulf War Tail Wind--With Prestigious Customers Including the MOD and the UN, Air London Seems Capable of Prospering Whether World Air Travel Is Flying High or Down in the Dumps," Investors Chronicle, November 1, 1991, p. 64.

Smith, Alison, "Air Partner Expands with Rapid Evacuation Wing," Financial Times (London), Companies & Finance UK Sec., April 20, 2000, p. 26.

Steiner, Rupert, "Flying Start for Charter Chief Who Was Born in a Hangar," Sunday Times, Bus. Sec., April 20, 1997.

Tieman, Ross, "Demand 'Still Reasonably Firm': Flexible Chartered Services in Europe Have Seen a Welcome Increase in Recent Weeks," Financial Times (London), FT Report--European Corporate Aviation 2003, May 7, 2003, p. 2.

------, "How to Set Up a Whistle-Stop Tour: Up to 40 International Meetings in Six Days," Financial Times (London), FT Report--European Corporate Aviation 2003, May 7, 2003, p. 2.

------, "Launches Help Keep the Fleets Flying and Afloat; Charter Market: Flexibility, Safety and Privacy Are Winning Charters, Says Ross Tieman," Financial Times (London), FT Report--Corporate Aviation, October 8, 2003, p. 3.

"Tip of the Week: Air London International--On Board with Air London--If You Have the Stomach for a Bumpy Ride, Air Charter Broker Air London International Could Be Just the Ticket; Its Shares Are a Buy in the Long Term," Investors Chronicle, November 8, 1996, p. 66.

Voyle, Susanna, "Air Partner Wants to Be the Flexible Friend of the World's Jet Set," Financial Times, Companies & Finance UK and Ireland Sec., August 5, 1999, p. 23.

— Frederick C. Ingram