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Airline sponsorship is a high-stakes game. Global carriers spend billions annually across sports, entertainment, and cultural partnerships, and the competition for access is fierce. Our latest Honch List profiles 160 of the world’s biggest airlines, detailing their marketing teams and current sponsorship portfolios.
The New Global Order: Where Airlines Are Investing
While Gulf carriers dominated the last decade, Asia-Pacific is now the hotspot:
- Passenger numbers are expected to double by 2043, driven by China and India.
- Carriers are diversifying sponsorships across traditional sports, entertainment, esports, and national initiatives.
- Airlines are looking to boost brand visibility and loyalty simultaneously.
This creates new opportunities - but only if you know which carriers are active, what they sponsor, and who makes the decisions.
Target the World’s Biggest Airlines with Honch
Our latest research details every major global airline, profiling not only their sponsorship activity but also the key marketing and executive contacts behind those decisions. With Honch, you can:
- Track existing sponsorship activity to inform your approaches.
- Monitor key hires and promotions to ensure you engage the right decision-makers.
- Target airlines based on their current marketing priorities, including sustainability and loyalty programmes.
- Gain a comprehensive view of the last six months of marketing activity, including channels and audiences they’re prioritising.
Don’t Get Left on the Runway - Track Key Hires in this Lucrative Sector
Timing is everything in sponsorship. Engaging the right person just after a promotion or new hire can dramatically increase your chances of success. Here are a few key moves in the airline industry so far in 2025:
- Air New Zealand – Nikhil Ravishankar, CEO
- JAL – Mitsuko Tottori, CEO
- American Airlines – Anthony Scott, Global Director Marketing
- Spirit Airlines – Dave Davis, President and CEO
- Japan Airlines – Minako Kent, Vice President, Global Brand and Marketing
- Finnair – Tuomas Manninen, VP, Brand & Customer Experience Design
- Gulf Air – Amel Faraj, Director Loyalty Experience and Marketing
- Aer Lingus – Lisa Melarkey, Director of Marketing
- Asiana Airlines – Song Bo-young, CEO
Sustainability Messaging
Nearly all airlines are actively promoting their sustainability credentials, and our sustainability tracking allows you to:
- Identify carriers with sustainability mandates aligned to your brand.
- Tailor proposals to demonstrate how your sponsorship supports their green goals.
- Track campaigns and initiatives to time your outreach strategically.
By aligning with airlines’ sustainability priorities, you’re not just pitching a sponsorship - you’re offering a solution to a key strategic focus.
The Honch Advantage
The sponsorship market is crowded, competitive, and expensive. The difference between a successful approach and one that goes nowhere often comes down to insight and timing. Honch gives you:
- Full visibility into more than 50,000 global companies’ existing sponsorship strategy.
- Insight into newly appointed global CMOs reviewing their current partners.
- Executive-level contact data, including all recent hires and promotions.
- Strategic targeting based on spend, sustainability priorities, and current campaigns.
