Flight International - November 10, 2015

WORKING WEEK

ightglobal.com 10-16 November 2015 | Flight International | 59

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Somerville got her first taste for leadership managing cabin crew at BA

Focus on quality pays dividends

Gabriella Somerville cut her teeth in aviation with Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Skyjet, before establishing

charter-broking business ConnectJets, an award-winning start-up with which she has had success from the off

WORK EXPERIENCE GABRIELLA SOMERVILLE

ConnectJets

Tell us about your career so far

My career to date has primarily

been within the aviation sector,

covering a short spell as a croupier

for a London casino. I began my

career in aviation with Virgin At-

lantic, working as an air steward-

ess, and spent seven glorious

years under the umbrella of Rich-

ard Branson and his team. Work-

ing at Virgin gave me an appetite

for setting up on my own – to see

first-hand the workings of an avia-

tion start-up was just the appren-

ticeship that I needed. After that, I

went on to British Airways, start-

ing out as cabin crew and moving

on to work in special services,

then a fleet manager and finally

customer-service manager for the

crew at London Gatwick. It was at

BA that I had my first taste of lead-

ership, managing more than 200

cabin crew and the unions! Hav-

ing spent 14 years in commercial

aviation, I took a short sabbatical,

started a small events company

and lived in Chamonix for a short

period. However, it was not long

before I was parading the corri-

dors of the European Business

Aviation Convention and Exhibi-

tion and was duly introduced to

Judith Moreton, who was manag-

ing director of Bombardier’s Euro-

pean charter operation, Skyjet. Ju-

dith then took me on to set up a

client-relationship department at

Skyjet based out of Farnborough.

Some two years later, Skyjet was

taken over by Vistajet and I was

given the role of VP of sales for

their card programme. It was then,

in 2009, that I went solo.

The commercial and business-

aviation worlds are very

different. Was the transition

easy for you?

Indeed, they are poles apart.

However, I found the transition

easy under the leadership of Ju-

dith Moreton. Setting up a new

department gave me a huge appe-

tite to learn, and within a few

months I felt at ease with both the

operation and the industry.

Why did you decide to set up

your own business?

Since the Virgin days I had always

dreamed about setting up my own

aviation company and in 2009 the

timing was perfect. I had sold a

property in the Alps, which had

subsequently given me the seed

capital to invest in the business.

Tell us about ConnectJets

It was launched in June 2009. The

initial business model was to ser-

vice a charter-broking business.

One year later, we had a turnover

of £4 million ($6.15 million) with

zero debt and were duly involved

in selling aircraft and leasing at

this time. In 2013, we were

awarded the Piaggio Avanti agen-

cy agreement for the UK and Ter-

ritories. In 2014, we moved our

office from Fairoaks Airport to

Mayfair to further service our cli-

entele and continue to expand

our business.

It’s an extremely competitive

market. How do you stay on top

of your game?

Business aviation is probably

one of the most competitive mar-

kets in the world. I have always

worked on the principle that if

you deliver excellent customer

service then you will stay on top.

Most of our business is referral-

led and our retention rate is very

strong. Where most people today

are speaking of being the new

Uber platform for business avia-

tion, we see ourselves as more

the Savile Row – keeping our eye

on the detail and making sure we

give above and beyond in terms

of service. In 2012 we received a

commendation for our services.

What does your typical day

involve?

Too much! I am a workaholic.

Predominantly my day consists of

managing an operational busi-

ness, serving our client base, man-

aging a small team, business de-

velopment and facing the

everyday challenges of working

in the world of aviation.

Where do you see yourself five

years from now?

I recently became a mentor for the

Virgin Unite programme and occa-

sionally speak at various events on

aviation and motivation. I would

love to give more time to mentor-

ing and encouraging more women

to take up senior aviation roles. I

am currently writing a book on

business aviation, to be released

next April, and surviving these

last few tough economic years.

Having just won the Honorary

Global Exemplary Award for En-

trepreneurship 2015 by the EU

Women Inventors and Innovators

Network, I am sure I will spend

more time with start-ups in avia-

tion and outside the industry. n

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Theory of evolution: how four top-selling

airliners changed for the better

http://www.flightglobal.com/evolution

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