Role Purpose
The Manager, Air Partners (MY) is responsible for managing and developing strategic airline partnerships primarily on ACMI and GSA models, ensuring commercially sound agreements, reliable capacity access, and strong partner performance. The role focuses on contract ownership, partner negotiations, commercial governance, and cross-functional coordination to support revenue growth and network objectives.
Key Responsibilities
Air Partner Strategy & Management
- Own and manage relationships with airline partners operating out of MY under different Capacity partnership models via Interline, Freighter deployments, Freight forwarding and GSA
- Develop partner strategies aligned with network, pricing, and commercial objectives.
- Act as the primary escalation and decision point for partner-related commercial matters at station/regional level.
Contracting & Commercial Negotiation
- Lead negotiations and management of air partner agreements including interline, SPA, block space, capacity, and cooperation agreements.
- Ensure commercial terms (rates, capacity commitments, incentives, penalties, SLAs) are competitive and sustainable.
- Oversee contract lifecycle management including renewals, amendments, and terminations.
Capacity & Performance Oversight
- Ensure contracted capacity is effectively utilized and aligned with demand driven by tight communication with Sales, Solutions and Revenue management departments
- Monitor partner performance against contractual commitments (capacity delivery, service levels, reliability, cost) - be proactive to ensure to minimize leakages
- Identify underperformance, risks, or leakage and drive corrective actions with partners and internal teams.
Stakeholder & Cross-Functional Coordination
- Work closely with Pricing, Sales, Revenue Management, Operations, Finance, and Legal to ensure seamless implementation of partner agreements.
- Align partner strategies with market requirements, customer needs, and operational constraints.
- Represent the company in partner meetings, reviews, and commercial forums in MY.
Governance, Compliance & Risk Management
- Ensure all partner agreements comply with internal governance, regulatory requirements, and aviation standards under tight coordination with HQ contracts team
- Maintain clear documentation, approval trails, and audit-ready records.
- Identify contractual, financial, and operational risks and recommend mitigation strategies.
Market & Commercial Insights
- Track market developments, competitor partnerships, and capacity trends at MY.
- Provide insights and recommendations to management on partner mix, capacity allocation, and commercial optimization.
- Support business cases for new partnerships or expansion of existing agreements.
Leadership & Team Development
- Provide guidance, coaching, and oversight to executives or senior executives supporting air partner management.
- Drive standardization of processes, templates, and best practices within the partnerships function.
- Support regional or HQ-led initiatives related to partnerships and network expansion.
Requirements
Qualifications & Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Aviation Management, Economics, Supply Chain, or related field.
- 7–10 years of experience in airline or air cargo commercial roles, with strong exposure to partnerships, contracts,network management and freight forwarding.
- Experience in ACMI costings and developments will be an advantage
- Proven experience negotiating and managing airline commercial agreements.
- Well versed in IATA Clearing House and CASS Settlements
- Strong understanding of the MY cargo/passenger market and airline operating environment is a strong advantage.
Skills & Competencies
- Strong commercial and negotiation skills.
- Solid understanding of airline economics, capacity management espc ACMI, and pricing principles.
- Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
- Analytical mindset with the ability to translate data into commercial decisions.
- Strong leadership, prioritization, and decision-making capabilities.
Personal Attributes
- Strategic, commercially driven, and results-oriented.
- Confident representing the company with senior airline partners.
- Resilient and adaptable in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment.
- High integrity and professionalism when handling sensitive commercial information
Benefits
- Unlimited training - You will have access to a wide range of learning resources including Notion!
- Ditch the Suit & Tie - Be comfortable as you are, express your inner Fashionista… as long as it's not a birthday suit!
- Vacation and time away - Sometimes you need to recharge and come back energized! That’s why you will get 90% off flights to destinations within AirAsia's network, 10%-15% discounts on selected eateries at KLIA2.
- Growth opportunities - We embrace and take on opportunities to learn and grow at Teleport as we reimagine the way we do things. Yes, we meet the challenge head on as a team, and we celebrate together with you when you succeed and reap the rewards when the hard work pays off!
