Sr Business Development Manager, Airline Partnerships- Europe/Ireland

ABOUT THE ROLE

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 will act as the primary interface between Hopper and airline partners, balancing relationship management, negotiation, and performance optimization.


What would your day-to-day look like

- Own and manage a portfolio of European airline partnerships with a P&L mindset, serving as the primary point of contact for commercial, distribution, and operational topics

- Build strong, senior-level relationships across airline sales, distribution, and revenue management teams

- Develop and execute strategies to grow top-line revenue (TTV) and improve unit economics, analyzing performance across channels (NDC vs. GDS), fare mix, and ancillary attachment rates

- Lead negotiations for new agreements, renewals, and extensions -- driving improved commercial terms including base commissions, sector rebates, and marketing development funds (MDF)

- Identify and act on opportunities to optimize underperforming partnerships

- Develop deep expertise in airline distribution (NDC, EDIFACT, aggregators) and European airline competitive dynamics, translating industry trends into actionable strategies

- Partner cross-functionally with Product, Growth/Marketing, and Finance to align on feature development, campaigns, forecasting, and deal modeling

- Track KPIs including revenue, margin, incentive attainment, and product mix, and lead Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) with airline partners.


An ideal candidate has

- 6+ years of experience in airline distribution, OTA, TMC, GDS, or airline partnerships in European markets; MENA experience is a plus

- A proven track record 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

- A commercial mindset -- you think in revenue and margin, not just volume, and have experience working with incentives, rebates, and performance-based deals

- Excellent presentation and storytelling skills; ability to communicate effectively with both airline executives and internal stakeholders

- Highly organized, self-driven, and comfortable operating in a fast-paced, high-growth environment

- Bilingual or advanced proficiency in German, Spanish, or French is a plus


Perks and benefits of working with us:

- Well-funded and proven startup with large ambitions, competitive salary and the upsides of pre-IPO equity packages.

- C