As Fort Wayne’s original municipal airport, Smith Field stands as one of America’s oldest surviving aviation sites. Building upon the legacy of Smith Field Air Services, Chuck and Lisa developed Sweet Aviation and quickly grew its footprint to include a state-of-the-art fleet of aircraft, which are now positioned at both Smith Field and DeKalb County Airport. In addition to its flight school, Sweet Aviation also offers its own charter service and aircraft maintenance operation.
At Sweet Aviation, our customers’ success and satisfaction are at the core of why we do what we do. Our mission is to help customers achieve their flight ambitions by providing a fun, safe, and memorable experience that exceeds all expectations. We do this by adhering to the Surack’s guiding principle: to always do the right thing.
As part of the Surack family, full-time employees can expect competitive pay, bonus potential, a complete benefits package, and a fulfilling professional outlook.
Sweet Aviation and Sweet Helicopters are looking for a driven, relationship-focused Business Development Manager to help grow charter operations across both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. This full-time, in-person role will be based in Fort Wayne, Indiana and will report to aviation leadership.The Business Development Manager will be responsible for developing new charter customers, strengthening existing customer relationships, and helping the company expand into new markets, with a particular emphasis on Indianapolis and the broader Indiana/Midwest region. This is not a desk-only sales position. We are looking for someone who can build trust with customers, understand their travel needs, work closely with aviation operations, and help turn relationships into long-term aviation revenue. The right candidate will be entrepreneurial, professional, highly responsive, and comfortable working in a fast-moving aviation environment where customer experience, safety, and operational execution all matter. Responsibilities will include identifying and pursuing new charter customers such as business executives, corporate travel decision-makers, event and VIP travelers, sports and entertainment groups, high-net-worth individuals, and other customers who value reliable and flexible aviation solutions.The role will require consistent outreach, relationship-building, follow-up, pipeline management, and coordination with aviation leadership, pilots, dispatch/logistics, maintenance, and customer service teams to ensure that sales efforts align with operational realities. A major focus of this position will be growing charter activity in Fort Wayne while also helping Sweet Aviation and Sweet Helicopters build relationships and market presence in Indianapolis and other target markets. The ideal candidate is a strong relationship builder who knows how to sell without being overly transactional. Aviation experience is preferred, but not required if the candidate has strong sales instincts, executive presence, sound judgment, and the ability to learn quickly. Experience in charter aviation, private aviation, luxury services, hospitality, sports partnerships, corporate sales, event sales, or high-touch customer service would be valuable. Successful candidates should have strong business development, sales, or relationship-management experience; excellent communication and follow-up skills; the ability to build trust with executives, business owners, and high-value customers; and the discipline to manage a pipeline and track activity. We are looking for someone with high integrity, a customer-first mindset, strong follow-through, and the ability to work as part of a team. This person should be hungry to grow the business, but grounded enough to respect the safety, compliance, and operational requirements of aviation. Compensation will include a base salary plus performance-based incentive opportunity, commensurate with experience.
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Flexible spending account
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid parental leave
- Paid time off
- Relocation assistance
Work Location: In person
