Air Partner races BMW and MINI partners to Spain for new car launches

Air Partner, the global aviation services group, set the wheels in motion for two car launches in January and February this year, flying thousands of guests to Spain for the much-anticipated launches of the new BMW 5 Series and the new MINI Countryman.

Both BMW and MINI needed to fly large numbers of regional CEOs and salespeople from various locations across Europe, while delivering a brand experience in keeping with the premium nature of their product offering. Much like the cars themselves, every aspect of the journey had to run perfectly smoothly – no mean feat given that BMW needed to get 6,390 guests to Barcelona from Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, while 1,280 MINI guests from Germany and the inner regions of Spain were required in Bilbao.

It was imperative that the launch experience of both sets of travellers started in advance of the actual events, and even before they set foot on a plane. Air Partner’s German Commercial Jets team therefore put flawless travel logistics in place and organised different premium services at the airports and on board: these included the prominent display of the BMW and MINI logos on the check-in screens at all the departure airports, and VIP catering for many of the flyers. Every single one of the 52 BMW and 24 MINI flights was then decked out in full brand regalia, with the respective logos on the headrest covers.

It was also of the utmost important to BMW and MINI that all their guests enjoyed a seamless and stress-free journey: consequently, there were Air Partner representatives on hand at each of the departure airports to answer any queries and flight riders were present on most of the flights. Those who had been in Barcelona for the BMW event were also granted access to the Lounge on their way home, ensuring that the experience did not finish when the launch did.

Ishak Mutlu, Head of Commercial Jets & Travel at Air Partner Germany, added: “BMW and MINI are extremely valued clients of ours and we were delighted that we were able to get their guests to their respective destinations on time and in a style fitting of their high-end brands. We do a huge amount of work with the automotive industry, and continue to see strong demand for product launches across Europe. Co-ordinating such a large number of flights within a tight timeframe is never an easy task, but our team here in Germany is extremely experienced in pulling together projects of this size and nature.”