Today we share the deeply sad news of the passing of our beloved founder, Paulo Mirpuri (1966-2026).
He inspired so many people, often without even realising it. The way he lived, with courage, determination, and a constant desire to do more and better, left a mark on everyone who crossed his path.
His impact reached far and wide. He helped shape the aviation industry, contributed to meaningful medical research, and supported expeditions that led to the discovery of new species and a deeper understanding of our planet. From the Caucasus and the protection of the Persian leopard to expeditions in Antarctica, his curiosity and commitment to the natural world never stood still.
Sailing was one of his great passions. It drove him to compete, to build teams, and to help grow the sport in Portugal. He also had a deep love for the arts and supported many institutions and creative communities.
There is so much more to say, and never enough words to fully express how many lives he touched and how much he changed.We honour his memory by following his footsteps with courage, determination, and a commitment to always do more and better for the planet and for others.
Professional Life (Short Version)
Paulo Mirpuri was an Aviation Entrepreneur, Medical Doctor, Sailor, Adventurer and Philanthropist, founder and the first President of the Mirpuri Foundation.
His Aviation career started 39 years ago, in 1987, at the age of 21 years old. While still studying medicine at the University of Lisbon (Nova) he presented to his father Arjan Mirpuri, founder and owner of the Mirpuri Group, the opportunity to convert the corporate flight department that served de Family personal and business travel needs, from a cost center into a profit center. In less than a year after obtaining his father’s blessing, Paulo incorporated his first Company, Air Luxor, obtained the License and Air Operator Certificate and signed the first contracts using the two family aircraft, a Cessna 206 and an Aero Commander 500S. The Company grew significantly over the years, evolving from a Business Aviation Company to become the second largest schedule airline in Portugal (after the Legacy Carrier TAP Portugal), and operating worldwide with an all Airbus fleet (Airbus A320’s and A330’s). This schedule airline was sold in early 2006 to a Luso Canadian investor, allowing Paulo to concentrate his time and resources in a new venture, Hi Fly, founded by himself in 2005 and operating on a completely different market segment (Business to Consumer), providing capacity (aircraft) to airline and governments on the Global stage. Hi Fly grew significantly over the years to become the largest capacity provider (wet lease) of Airbus widebody aircraft, to over 200 airlines and Governments all over the world. Paulo Mirpuri, besides the Founder of Hi Fly was still its current Chairman. Hi Fly operates or has operated most of the Airbus models, including the Airbus models A310, A319, A320, A321, A330, A340 and A380, the later being the largest passenger commercial aircraft in the world.
The roots of Paulo Mirpuri came from Business Aviation, where he also developed several high profile successful projects, including Masterjet (now part of the Luxaviation Group) and NetJets Europe. Masterjet, a business aircraft management company and NetJets, a fractional ownership program. NetJets Europe, where Paulo Mirpuri at inception was the President and major shareholder (51%), was created in 1996 with three business jets (Citation SII’s) and by the time it was sold to Berkshire Hathaway 10 years later, it was the largest business jet operator in Europe, operating over 100 aircraft, including Citations, Falcons and Gulfstreams all received new from factory.
Along the almost 40 years of his career, Paulo Mirpuri also founded and developed several other successful aviation support Companies, including MESA- Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering, LSKY- Inflight Catering, SGAB-Airport Development and Management and SafePort- Aircraft and Passenger Handling.
