Overview
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 shape Hopper's airline distribution strategy across NDC, GDS, and direct partnerships, working with European carriers such as Lufthansa Group, IAG, Air France-KLM, and Turkish Airlines. This is a high-impact, commercially driven role acting 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 with experience working with incentives, rebates, and performance-based deals
* Excellent presentation and storytelling skills; ability to communicate effectively with 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, upsides of pre-IPO equity packages
* Hopper covers the cost of employee premiums for private medical and dental coverage
* Hopper also offers private life and accident coverage
* Parental leave policy that is generous by industry standards
* Access to co-working space on demand through FlexDesk and a Work-from-home stipend
* Unlimited PTO
* Monthly cash allowances for gym memberships and to cover home office expenses
* Carrot Cash travel stipend
* Entrepreneurial culture with emphasis on pushing limits and taking risks
* Open communication with management and leadership
* Small, dynamic teams with massive impact
More About Hopper
At Hopper, we are on a mission to become the leading travel platform globally – powering Hopper’s mobile app, website and our B2B business, HTS (Hopper Technology Solutions). By leveraging data and machine learning, Hopper combines its travel agency offering with fintech products to bring transparency, flexibility and savings to travelers. Our fintech solutions address pricing volatility and trip disruptions, helping people travel better and save more.
The Hopper platform serves hundreds of millions of travelers globally and continues to capture market share. The Hopper app has been downloaded over 120 million times, with Gen Z and millennials comprising a large portion of users. Hopper has evolved into a travel fintech provider, commerce platform, and global travel agency serving some of the world’s largest brands.
Through HTS, our B2B division, we empower partners to integrate our fintech products or travel inventory on their direct channels. Partners include Capital One, Nubank, Air Canada, and more. Hopper has been named the #1 most innovative company in travel by Fast Company and has raised over $750 million USD in private capital. HTS represents more than 75% of the business, enabling collaboration with a range of travel providers.
Come take off with us!
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