Ammar (Jay) Alhussari, Founder & CEO, Prime Trip Support
It’s true that passion drives success. But turning passion into a fulfilling sense of purpose requires the utmost willpower, tenacity, and dedication. It takes a whole lot of patience, and perseverance to channel that initial spark of passion, work towards it, and stay the course. Not many are courageous enough to take the leap of faith and stay unswervingly persistent in pursuing their aspirations. But few dare to follow their dream, hang on to their goal and pedal their way to success with a strong belief and unwavering commitment. Fueled by the passion of their ingenuity,aspiration, and creativity, they learn the ropes at an early age and bring change through their dedicated endeavors with a deliberate pursuit to make people’s lives easier. An evident example of such a passionate and inspirational business leader is Ammar (Jay) Alhussari, the Founder and CEO of Prime Trip Support, a leading provider of international trip support services for business and commercial aviation.
Growing up in a family with an aviation background, Mr.Alhussari developed a keen interest and passion for aviation from a very young age. His father studied aviation in the United States in the early 1960s and returned home to the Middle East to be instrumental in the growth of civil aviation within the region. Thus, aviation was deeply ingrained into Ammar’s DNA. He also learned the art of self-reliance and dedication from quite an early age as he started his first business when he was just six. He sold candy and little toys to other kids in the neighborhood. Also, as a teenager, he started small businesses in IT and other services. But it is his unwavering passion for aviation that further led his way to plunge into the aviation sector.
A Fascinating Journey with Prime Trip Support
Starting out in one of the industry’s powerhouse firms, Mr. Alhussari worked his way up through a number of disciplines including operations, sales, human resources, accounting, and ultimately, executive roles within the aviation community. During this time, he helped expand the company into 37 countries with multiple global headquarters. These experiences shaped him to become the business leader he is today and helped him garner several bestowments and honors, including several industry board positions, speaking engagements, and published works.
In 2021, Mr. Alhussari utilized his capabilities and passion to lay the foundation of Prime Trip Support. Due to this growth in service breadth and quality, Prime was able to capture a large portion of the market.Today, Prime provides world-class international trip support services which include flight planning, ground handling, permits, regulatory services, contract fuel, executive travel, risk mitigation, weather services, and travel services to both commercial and business aviation. Its mission is to move people and aircraft safely and effectively around the globe with exemplary service and complete trust and integrity. “As an aviation service provider, we move the people and products that move the world. Prime Trip Support’s vision is to be the industry leader that performs at the highest level on behalf of our customers and partners, revolutionizing the international travel industry by making it less complex and easier to navigate,” assertsMr. Alhussari.
Partnering With the Best Technology Available In the Market
The ardent leader believes that “good” technology should be disruptive and progressive. Thus, Prime always strives to build or partner with the best technology available in the market. “As a leading service provider, we do an excellent job in our market space, including certain technologies. However, we also recognize that we are not a pure ‘tech’ company and understand that there are a few companies in that space that are doing excellent work. Our goal is to do what we do best and partner with other best-in-class providers,” opines Mr. Alhussari.
As a part of those alliances, the company connects its systems and processes to external and third-party systems to provide value to its clients and the industry as a whole. “As the aviation logistics industry continues to grow, many customers are looking for more self-service alternatives in the tech space. We believe we can be both; a provider of a marketplace for those who want to be self-sufficient and an end-to-end white glove provider for those who want the full concierge experience,” adds Mr. Alhussari.
Overcoming Challenges along the Way
As the aviation industry moves at a breakneck pace, it’s stressful, unforgiving, unrelenting, and requires extreme focus to seamlessly serve and support the customers. During its initial phase, it was quite challenging for Prime to make sure that it could seamlessly support its customers during their transition from other service providers to Prime. It needed to ensure the clients felt no disruption, problems, or uneasiness in transitioning providers. However with a proficient team, strong technology foundation, and solid partner network, Prime was able to defy all the odds. “We mitigate these risks by making sure our team is the most qualified and best prepared in the industry, our technology foundation is strong, and our partner network is solid. We try to impress our customers every day; it’s the sole purpose of the service industry,” affirms Mr. Alhussari.
ContinuesAdding More Value in the Years Ahead
Drawing key lessons from his entrepreneurial journey, Mr. Alhussari advises budding entrepreneurs not to be afraid of failure and believe in themselves and their offerings. “If you have a passion or an idea that you truly think is unique or necessary, go for it. You need to know your value proposition, your edge, and your unique identity. Your offering must be different than what is in the market currently, and it must be customer-centric – not only by slogans and words – but through tangible actions,” elucidates Mr. Alhussari. He goes on to state that there is never a “perfect” time to launch and their idea of success may change over time. So, he urges them not to hold back when they feel they have a good idea or solution and also to focus on networking.
Going forward, Mr. Alhussari envisions Prime Trip Support to be the sole predominant name in the aviation logistics industry and wants its name to be synonymous with success, knowledge, efficiency, and the epitome of customer service. In addition to his work at Prime, Mr. Alhussari also enjoys keeping his eyes open to all possibilities and ideas. “I like to stay diversified across multiple markets, many of which are not based in aviation. I don’t think I’ll ever stop working; there are simply too many problems in the world left to solve,” concludes Mr. Alhussari.