About the Role
We??re looking for a smart, driven, and domain-strong business professional with 7+ years of experience in Business Development, Partnerships, and Account Management in the travel industry ?? preferably with direct experience in airline operations, ticketing systems, and OTA distribution is a strategic role where you??ll help scale the Flights vertical by driving new partnerships, optimizing supplier integrations, and enabling operational excellence in airline distribution and automation.
Key Responsibilities
1. Business Development & Strategic AccountabilityStrategic Roadmap: Execute the Flights vertical roadmap in line with company objectives, ensuring operational and technical feasibility.
Revenue Enablement: Identify and activate new airline and supplier partnerships to drive volume and improve margins.
Resource Optimization: Design initiatives to address operational challenges such as budget constraints or GDS integration bottlenecks.
Process Innovation: Enhance workflows for partner onboarding, contracting, and automation of ticketing and after-sales processes.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Finance, Product, Growth, and Operations teams to ensure alignment on business goals.
2. Technical Excellence & Product IntegrationSystem Expertise: Deep understanding of airline ticketing systems, GDS/CRS platforms (Amadeus, Sabre, Travelport), and emerging distribution models like NDC.
Issue Management: Lead root-cause analysis and resolution of operational and tech issues (PNR cancellations, ADM/ACM disputes, API failures).
Tech Partnership: Collaborate with Engineering, QA, and Product teams to ensure travel systems are scalable, reliable, and optimized for uptime.
Feature Deployment: Oversee pre- and post-deployment validation for new capabilities such as ancillaries, branded fares, and direct airline integrations.
3. Partner & Account ManagementAirline Relationship Management: Build and manage strong commercial relationships with airlines, consolidators, and GDS providers.
Competitive Intelligence: Analyze industry trends, competitor fare strategies, and distribution models to identify growth opportunities.
Co-Creation: Collaborate with partners to co-design win-win product and pricing models, including dynamic fares and exclusive deals.
4. Operational LeadershipTicketing Process Excellence: Define best practices for ticket issuance, reissue, refund, and exchange workflows.
Market Insights: Conduct route-level and inventory analysis to guide airline strategy and promotional opportunities.
Cross-Team Coordination: Partner with CX, Tech, and Growth teams to deliver consistent traveler and partner experiences.
Automation & Compliance: Drive automation in fare caching, reconciliation, and reporting to ensure compliance with airline and IATA standards.
Ideal Candidate ProfileExperience:
- 7+ years in business development/partnerships within travel or airline domains.
- 5+ years in OTA or airline environments, with hands-on experience in airline reservation and ticketing systems.
- Skills & Competencies:
- Airline Domain Expertise: Strong command over airline ticket issuance, GDS/CRS workflows, BSP/ARC settlements, and ADM/ACM management.
- Technical Acumen: Familiarity with travel tech stacks (API integrations, NDC, fare caching, automation workflows).
- Negotiation Skills: Proven success in closing high-value airline or supplier deals.
- Execution Focus: Bias for action with experience scaling new airline integrations or distribution models.
- Stakeholder Influence: Ability to manage and align cross-functional teams toward business outcomes.
Key Success Metrics
- Growth in direct airline partnerships and supplier-driven revenue
- Improved efficiency in ticket issuance and reconciliation
- SLA adherence for customer issue resolution
- Enhanced operational reliability and automation adoption.