Leading air charter broker, Air Partner, has announced that it has made two exciting new hires to its freight team. Mark Middleton joins the Group as Director of Business Development for Freight - Asia Pacific, and Stuart Smith takes on the role of Business Development Manager for Freight – MENA and CIS. Mark Middleton has over 31 years’ experience in the aviation industry, in both the UK and Singapore. During this time, Mark has spent 15 years working for aircraft operators, and over 15 years working in the air charter broking industry. Mark has managed charter sales and operations for many different aircraft, from Beechcraft up to Boeing 747 and Antonov 124, and although his experience has been predominantly in freight, he has also worked with private jets, ACMI and helicopters. He has travelled and worked on projects all over the world, including in many of the remotest areas of South East Asia and Oceania, and has worked with governments, corporates and private individuals on all types of time critical and project air charter solutions. In his new role, Mark will be based in Singapore. Stuart Smith has seven years’ experience in the aviation industry, including five years in the charter broking sector as a Cargo Director, and two years with Qatar Airways as Manager for Freighter Sales and Marketing and Regional Cargo Manager CIS/North Africa. In his new role at Air Partner, based in Istanbul, he will be working to develop Air Partner Freight’s offering in new markets. Richard Smith, Air Partner’s Product Director for Freight, commented, “We are pleased to welcome Mark and Stuart to Air Partner Freight. Between them, they have a very broad range of experience, which will add to the skills and knowledge already within the Freight team. After a few years of tough trading conditions across the freight sector, we feel the time is right to strengthen our offering. Improving economic conditions will mean a return to strong demand for charters and Air Partner will have an excellent team to support our clients’ needs going forwards.” Mark Middleton said, “I worked at Air Partner earlier in my career and I am very much looking forward to returning to the organisation. Air Partner’s people, culture, network and standards make it an exciting place to be. My regional and market experiences were an excellent fit for Air Partner’s desire to expand in Asia Pacific and within the energy sector more generally and I am looking forward to the challenges of developing the business in new markets.”