In this interview, Open Aero’s CEO and founder, Tatiana Uzel, sits down to chat with us about her experience in the private aviation sector. We'll hear about a dynamic and rapidly changing landscape where customer loyalty counts for very little, and how those who fail to move with the times will ultimately be left behind.
Founded in 2011, Open Aero has become recognised as a private aviation travel industry leader. Operating from offices in London, across the Mediterranean and beyond, the company has built a strong reputation for its unique, individually tailored travel solutions and stress-free booking experience.
How did your career in private aviation begin?
I started working in private aviation in around 2005. My friend had been working in the industry for some time, and one day, she explained that her company was looking for flight attendants and asked me if it was something I'd be interested in pursuing. At that time, I was a university student studying linguistics, and I'd worked in various uninspiring office jobs. I thought the idea of becoming a flight attendant sounded fantastic and would allow me to see the world. Back then, the business aviation market wasn't well developed, so there were few experienced staff and plenty of opportunities.
Sadly I didn't get the job, as the company executives thought I was too young. Luckily, when one of the managers started his own company, he remembered me due to my career profile and English language proficiency. I also had some experience as an interpreter, and this combination of skills led to me being offered a job in sales.
Success in business aviation comes from doing your job well and sticking around for the long term. With help from my new mentor, I was able to become quite proficient at my job within a year, and soon made a name for myself within the industry.
What led to you founding Open Aero?
After some time working as a broker, I made the decision to move to London with my boyfriend. I called one of the companies I used to deal with as a broker and asked them if they would be interested in employing me. I arrived in London on a Sunday, and I was at my new job the following Monday morning.
From that point, I worked extremely hard, making myself available for every opportunity. I would sometimes stay at work until 2AM. I basically lived in the office, but I loved my job. I firmly believe that if you put in the effort, you can achieve whatever you want.
I was madly in love with the company I worked in and very grateful for everything I learned and all the people I met, we still treasure warm connection with some ex coworkers, but with my passionate character I did not notice how I completely burned out which also ruined my private life, so I had to take a break to heal. And when I was ready to start again I thought it makes sense to try working on my own terms running my own company. I had nothing to lose at that point and it worked.
Inspiring stuff, but it must have been tough as a woman in this industry?
I personally haven't experienced any problems due to my gender. Everyone has been supportive and open-minded, and my partners and clients all work together wonderfully. However, on the whole, there are few women in senior management roles, and you’ll find even fewer female company owners like myself. Likewise, if you attend any kind of aviation event that features group discussions, the panel will nearly always be made up of men. In those kinds of scenarios, it can be a surprise when you see another woman.
Private and business aviation is definitely on the conservative side, especially if you're negotiating a big deal such as purchasing an aircraft — though things are beginning to change. Until around ten years ago, some clients would refuse to fly if the pilot was female, whereas these days, nobody is surprised when the flight crew is female and the attendant is a man.
Embracing the New Payment Landscape
You mentioned that the industry is now more open-minded towards gender. What about when it comes to adopting new technologies?
I think business aviation works in cycles, just like other industries. We're experiencing the same move to digital solutions and online platforms as everyone else — though because our sector is still slightly conservative, we're often slow to catch up with current trends.
Are the changes driven by the preferences of end consumers?
You can only get clients and keep them happy by providing excellent service. If a potential client needs to go through a hundred different steps to make a booking and read lots of paperwork, they're going to go elsewhere. Streamlining processes and reducing friction is always helpful, and although some of our clients are pretty old-school, nobody wants to print out a contract in the middle of the night!
Do you think loyalty to those old-school clients prevents the industry from modernising further?
Absolutely not. Loyalty is not a habit. It's a relationship. And as with any relationship for it to flourish you need to work on it. In our business nothing locks customers in, they can easily switch between providers from one deal to another as they wish. But at the same time any healthy business core - is their loyal customer base. So in an extremely competitive environment like ours in order to create those loyal clients and most importantly keep them we have to work extra hard and constantly look into ways to improve and make our clients life easier, including the "old-fashioned" ones. Clients really appreciate when you show them something that saves their time. That means you care, and everybody likes to be cared for. At the same time it is very important to keep the balance and not to forget about the human touch in the rush for optimising processes and implementing technology.
What has been most important for Open Aero in terms of taking payments?
In terms of payments, I think it's imperative that clients can pay the way they want. We also need to be able to quickly handle bookings and payments on bank holidays, evenings, and weekends, and we can't take massive risks such as offering fly-now-pay-later credit.
ECOMMPAY has really helped us to implement all of the modern payment methods that our customers prefer, including cards and, more recently, cryptocurrencies — in fact, the first day we switched on our crypto payment option, a client used it to pay for a flight! We’ve also seen a surge of interest since implementing ECOMMPAY’s Payment Link technology, with card transactions growing by 20%. Overall, it seems that the companies who adapt best to technological changes will reap the biggest rewards.
I want Open Aero to be stress-free, convenient, and comfortable. We're really trying to say yes to everything and offer our clients whatever they need.
Payment links are one-time invoices sent by email or messenger, allowing clients to pay using their preferred payment method in a few taps of a screen. Links can be sent to clients from ECOMMPAY’s Merchant Dashboard to email addresses, or via messengers or social media — a zero-paperwork solution requiring no complex integrations that’s perfect for last-minute bookings.
Did you have any doubts about implementing crypto?
Once I undertook a little research into how the technology works and began to understand that it was a growing trend, I had no doubts whatsoever that we would have to offer it as a payment method. My biggest surprise was that it's actually quite simple to set up; I couldn't believe there was so much friction surrounding implementation.
As a business, you definitely have to make sure that everything is legal and done correctly, and of course, there are practical considerations when implementing crypto as a payment method. Here again, though, ECOMMPAY has really helped us, especially with the all-in-one Dashboard, which is super-comfortable to use — and a breath of fresh air for someone who isn't very technologically minded.
When it comes down to it, I think people who don't offer crypto are missing out. There’s now a whole layer of clients who prefer to pay this way, so businesses are robbing themselves of opportunities by not giving people this option.
So the clientele and their payment preferences are changing?
We’re seeing more millennial travellers since the pandemic, and we’re noticing that they have very different payment preferences to their older counterparts. The industry is constantly evolving, and the market is very dynamic. Clients have different backgrounds than they did 15 years ago and are now more likely to be in finance or IT. I try to follow the trends and see how the market is developing by reading plenty of articles and researching how people earn their money.
New trends are emerging all the time. Crypto, for example, is loved by all of our new clients, and it's a massive, booming market, and there's plenty of money there. The psychology of our passengers is changing too. Years ago, you might get a single client chartering a whole plane for himself, whereas today, people are much more practical and will book whatever is appropriate for the mission at hand.
What are you most proud of during your career journey?
I'm proud of what I've achieved with Open Aero, which has been in business since 2011. I'm also very proud of my team, who helped the business survive through some very difficult times. On a personal level, I've also managed to navigate through this without putting my private life on pause enjoying a beautiful life with my husband and two children, and that hasn't been easy, as anyone with a family will understand. I think the happier you are in all areas of your life, the more successful you'll be.
