Tatiana Popova is the Founder and CEO of Charters Luxury (www.chartersluxury.com) which provides not only private jet charter and access to 450 accredited aircraft operators, top-level service from highly qualified staff, but also regularly brings to life original, unprecedented ideas during the flight. She is also the head of the World Charity Union and the organiser of the tremendously beautiful and sophisticated events. Let’s start our conversation without losing a second.
Tatiana, please tell us how your journey into business aviation began, after all this niche mainly belongs to men.
Yes, it was an interesting and very exciting experience. My father worked in the Air Force all his life, and from early childhood I attended aviation shows with him, for example MAKS. Thus, we can say that aviation is in my blood. When the idea was born to open my own company and create my first startup, I was, of course, very inspired by the experience of the famous businessman Richard Branson and Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Easyjet Founder. I was lucky enough to meet the second one personally and, of course, it made an indelible impression on me, because Sir Stelioz is not only a businessman, but also a philanthropist, which also greatly influenced my line of activity in the future. Inspired by the example of Sir Stelioz, I decided to study the aviation market and, of course, I was interested in looking specifically at the business aviation segment, since I worked for a large company in London and our office was in the City, and there was a business aviation airport nearby. While studying this niche, I saw that there was no “one-click fly” service and decided that such service would definitely be in demand. Having opened the company in 2014, I was determined to create a platform where it would be possible to automatically book a business jet anywhere in the world. Of course, when building a business, the market made its own adjustments, and we began to focus on exclusive flights instead of flight automation.
What requests and cases have been the most unusual over the years implemented by Charters Luxury (www.chartersluxury.com)?
We approach each flight of our clients individually and with maximum personal attention. However, some of the most memorable requests were to organise an in-flight wedding for a couple and an event for team building for the company employees. We were also working on organising an art auction with one of the famous auction houses. The idea was that any passenger would be able to purchase any auction lot during the flight. In general, we are ready to fulfill any request of our client, since any wish is a priority for us.
Every year business aviation becomes more popular and in demand. Please share with our readers the benefits of the services provided by Charters Luxury.
We are proud that for us a request from a client is the utter opportunity to serve and provide the service that will not only please the person and he/she would like to return, but also it will recommend us to other people and contact us for other business issues and tasks. That is why we accompany the client not only on the flight, but also throughout his/her entire trip, which means if anything is required, for example, on vacation, we will definitely do our best to fulfill his/her wishes. Very often you have to resolve issues related to renting an aircraft, this could be ordering a yacht, a villa, or just a hotel, and so on. For example, there was a case when our client went on vacation and his return flight was in two weeks, and upon arrival at the resort it was discovered that an important document had been forgotten at home, the client asked us to provide assistance if possible and deliver the document to him on the island. We solved this task within a half of a day and delivered the necessary document by another plane in the morning. Thus, our clients can always and everywhere count on our support for any requests. We sometimes work not only as a concierge service, but also as a family office.
It is impossible not to mark your contribution to the development and organisation of forums and exhibitions. The events you organised were always large-scale and grandiose, which is certainly accompanied by various difficulties in organisation. What attracts you to this activity and what drives you in the process of working on such projects?
It all also started with my wonderful company Charters Luxury and the need to create a beautiful opening event. Of course, we wanted both beauty and the highest level, probably at that time I realised that it is quite labour-intensive to organise big events, but at the same time so exciting. Since the event was on the occasion of the opening of my company, of course, I entirely devoted myself to the organizational issues; I had no desire to entrust it to other hands. When I managed to do this, the excitement to repeat it came immediately. Each event is like a small artwork by itself, first it is the creation project, then the implementation and the result. This is an indescribable feeling of delight and satisfaction from the out-turn.
You annually participate and give a speech at such major events as the World Economic Forum in Davos, Snow Polo in St. Moritz, Cannes Film Festival, COP Ecology related Summit, UN in New York and many others. Please tell us about this experience. What is your message to the participants of these events, many of whom represent the elite of international business and politics?
Yes, indeed, I had the chance to give a speech at many world-famous venues. And it is always a great honour for me to take part and, even more so, to have a speech at such level events. The topics for the speeches were different; many times I spoke on the issues of transport and various transport routes, the development of logistics and transportation. However, one of my favourite topics of the speech was a project, captivated my heart, that related to charity – World Charity Union. The main task of the Union is to accumulate all the most interesting projects, experiences, and cases referred to charity and social investment. On the platform we collect international practical cases that we can share at our annual World Charity Forum and reward the best with the World Charity Award.
Tatiana, for you, 2018 marked the beginning of powerful charitable activities. It was then that you created the World Charity Union: Experts and philanthropists who care & The best practices at one place, uniting all the best in this area. World Charity Union implements environmentally friendly, social and charitable projects, startups, forums, awards, and also includes an association of the world’s best doctors. On December 28, 2022 you organised a charity dinner in Dubai under the World Charity Union brand. How does the situation in the world today affect your charitable goals?
For me, this is a project of my heart and my life, and we have always positioned the World Charity Union as non-political. Our main focus is unity through charity and social projects. Of course, everything that is happening in the world now only proves that it is always necessary to unite in order to be stronger and do more good deeds. We strive as much as possible to collect all the most effective practices in one place so that we can share our experience with everyone.
One of the major partners of your World Charity Union is a Swiss foundation with a 25-year history. Please tell us about your next joint event. Who can take part in it?
We collaborate with the EurAsia Heart Foundation, a Swiss foundation founded in 2006 that focuses primarily on cardiac surgery and cardiology in developing countries. The main focus is on the treatment of children’s congenital heart defects, as well as adults’ acquired heart defects. Together we are currently preparing two events in Dubai in April and in Monaco in May. There will be a charity dinner with an auction in Dubai in support of this foundation with the representatives of the UAE authorities. And in Monaco, with the top officials of the country, there will be a World Charity Forum and Award with a Gala dinner and Hollywood stars. We are open to cooperation with everyone who is close to the path of philanthropy and participation in social projects, because the EurAsia Heart Foundation operates all over the world. I’ll tell you a secret that our main partners are world-famous brands.
Information about the foundation:
The EurAsia Heart Foundation operates entirely on a charitable basis. All activities of the organisation are provided free of charge and without any compensation to project participants. Specialists are compensated only for the costs of transportation, accommodation and meals during missions. Members of the Foundation’s committee and patronage committee work for free. Administrative costs are limited to technical costs and operation of the website.
Our goal is to improve the skills and training of specialists in the field of cardiology and children’s cardiovascular surgery. The exchange of experience between Swiss and Russian specialists is carried out directly at the workplace in the most complex sections: practical and technical skills and their application in diagnostics, cardiac surgery, cardiac resuscitation and cardiology.
Our goal is to save as many children as possible who are in need of surgery and subsequently provide them with a high quality of life, to become a reliable partner for parents in solving problems related to the health of their children.
Our mission is to preserve the health of the younger generation and prevent premature mortality of children and adolescents due to cardiovascular diseases, as well as to ensure the transfer of world experience in the field of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the cardiovascular system.
It is gratifying that your close connection with world-famous stars is not limited to participation in festivals, but continues as a part of your social activities and charity. Which of the world’s celebrities have you managed to work with, how was it, and are you planning new collaborations with stars as a part of your projects?
We were lucky enough to participate in the charity dinners with Sharon Stone, Leonardo DiCaprio, Eva Longoria, Natalia Vodianova and many others. We always happily support charitable foundations and initiatives. When there is an opportunity to participate, we provide lots for a charity auction, as was the case for the Gala Dinner with the participation of Sharon Stone and her charitable organisation. We, of course, plan to invite stars to all our future events and this is always a great success for us.
You collaborate and interact with more than 21 countries. Dubai and Saudi Arabia are currently key countries with which you have big plans and prospects. Please tell us about the “Business Breakfasts in Dubai” project.
We discovered this market two years ago and indeed both the UAE and Saudi Arabia are increasingly gaining popularity and attracting international audience. In this regard, in partnership with large companies, we decided to hold a series of business breakfasts at the legendary closed English club “The Arts Club” on the topics of technology and investment, innovative tools with the application of artificial intelligence.
Our interview was held on the Christmas and New Year’s Eve. What would you like to wish to readers of LUXURY International Magazine?
With all my heart I wish both to the editorial staff of the magazine and every reader the abundance and luxury, and that there will only be more LUXURY every day in everyone’s life.
And in conclusion, our signature question. What is luxury for you?
Luxury is when you have the opportunity to serve people and the world as a whole with every second of your life.
