About the job
About the Role
As a Senior Business Development Manager for Airline Partnerships in Europe, you will be responsible for managing and expanding a portfolio of key airline relationships, driving revenue growth and margin optimization within Hopper's innovative travel ecosystem. This pivotal role will involve shaping Hopper's airline distribution strategy through NDC, GDS, and direct partnerships, collaborating closely with top European airlines including Lufthansa Group, IAG, Air France-KLM, and Turkish Airlines.
In this high-impact, commercially focused position, you will serve as the primary liaison between Hopper and airline partners, expertly balancing relationship management, negotiations, and performance enhancement.
What You Will Do
Manage a portfolio of strategic airline partnerships with a profit and loss mindset, acting as the main contact for commercial, distribution, and operational matters.
Cultivate robust relationships with senior leaders across airline sales, distribution, and revenue management teams.
Formulate and implement strategies to enhance top-line revenue (TTV) and optimize unit economics, analyzing performance metrics across various distribution channels (NDC vs. GDS), fare structures, and ancillary attachment rates.
Lead negotiations for new contracts, renewals, and extensions, driving favorable commercial terms including base commissions, sector rebates, and marketing development funds (MDF).
Identify and leverage opportunities to enhance underperforming partnerships.
Develop in-depth knowledge of airline distribution (NDC, EDIFACT, aggregators) and the competitive landscape of European airlines, translating industry trends into actionable strategies.
Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Growth/Marketing, and Finance teams to align on feature development, campaigns, forecasting, and deal modeling.
Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) such as revenue, margin, incentive attainment, and product mix, conducting Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) with airline partners.

