Passengers... Sports charters ... Dancing on Ice... .. Four weddings and a shopping trip...
Executive charter - the tailor made solution... Hurricane Rescue Flights... AOG spares... Any job - large or small...
ACS flies an airport... Empty Sectors... 2007 and Beyond ...

Passengers...

2007 was a busy year for our passenger division, especially for the performing arts. We arranged charters for various musical festivals and orchestra tours in the UK and Europe, as well as full Orchestra Tours in North and South America and the Far East. Aircraft Chartering Services were certainly global in 2007 and we are already investigating worldwide tour opportunities for2008- 2009 commitments. Our knowledge of airlines, airports and aviation proved invaluable to our clients in the performing arts. There were also numerous contracts undertaken for conference and incentive travel groups originating in Europe and North America, cruise passenger transfers and specialist Inclusive Tour projects. Current indications show that 2008 will be even busier.

Sports charters.

Our Sports charter enquiries certainly reached a peak during the month of October last year last year, especially in view of Englands somewhat unexpected progression to the final of the Rugby World Cup. As soon as the scheduled services on aircraft and trains were full, then alternative methods had to be found for trips to France that not many people had expected to be made from England when the campaign began in September. Despite a frenzy in the marketplace for capacity for both large passenger jets and small executive aircraft, we were able to offer solutions to our clients. Unfortunately, our passengers could not influence the result. The Champions League and Englands European Championship qualifying campaign also generated lots of charter flights and although the Champions League Final in Moscow is an exclusively English affair, the Home nations do not feature in the European Championship finals this Summer. We expect to fly the European teams, supporters and club sponsors to the games in Switzerland and Austria, even if they will not be watching teams from these shores. Other high profile sporting event charters include those for the Horse Racing and Grand Prix seasons.

Dancing on ice...

Once again we have had requests for charters to the Ice Castle in the Arctic Circle in Sweden. We flew charters to this destination a couple of years ago and the appeal of this unique venue has again attracted conference and incentive groups. Our first operation was 2 years ago for a group of over 250 lucky prize-winners from all over the world. They gathered in Stockholm and flew up to the frozen North on two charter aircraft for an all-night party, returning back to Stockholm the next morning. This year we have had business, incentive and also conference groups all looking to sample the one-off atmosphere.

Four Weddings and a shopping trip...

Aircraft Chartering Services also provided charter flights for product launches, conferences, seminars and workshops for various clients including the motor trade and telecommunications companies. However, not all of our charters were for business users and we also arranged charters for various special events, pilgrimages, birthday celebrations, weddings and even a shopping trip to the Christmas markets in Vienna.

Executive charter - the tailor made solution...

The recent security alerts and also the general increase in "low-cost" operations through all the major airports has triggered a greater demand for executive aircraft charter, due to the horrendous delays and cancellations that have been occurring on scheduled service routes. Many clients were able to keep valuable appointments, both in the UK and abroad, by chartering executive aircraft to avoid the airport chaos that filled the television news programmes.

A perfect example of how this form of tailor-made charter can be used to great effect was a series of flights for a group of businessmen who had meetings in six cities in Europe in four days. With their sole-use charter aircraft, they were not only able to do this comfortably, they were even able to change their schedule and fit in an extra meeting at a seventh venue. We had a number of similar operations in the US, where clients arrived at "gateway" airports in the US from different cities in Europe. They then boarded executive jets and had several meetings across the United States over 2 or 3 days, often landing at small airfields that were perfectly placed for their clients’ offices, but not served by larger scheduled traffic.

One other notable event that typifies this branch of the industry was the charter of a large VIP aircraft to transport executives and journalists to a keel laying ceremony in Italy.

Hurricane Rescue Flights...

The hurricane season in the Caribbean and on the US Gulf Coast is always a difficult time for airlines across America and Europe.

We have in the past assisted many airlines in finding spare capacity for rescue flights during the hurricane season. This year was no different and we moved both passengers and fresh aircrew around the US and Caribbean. We have repatriated tourists from Florida, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Antigua, Bahamas and various other Caribbean islands to Europe, Canada and USA. We have also on numerous occasions relocated tourists from a variety of Caribbean islands to other islands, to Mexico or to the USA.. These flights are nearly always last minute decision as the severity and path of the hurricanes are very difficult to predict.

Freight...

It has been a busy year for our freight division and our musical instrument traffic expertise has been much in demand, with full Symphony Orchestra loads being moved worldwide and many charters in Europe and the US, as well as some more unusual loads as you will see.

This requirement was to take a B757 engine on a cradle (5 x 2.75 x 2.80 meters x 9,600 kgs) to Porto Santo in the Azores. On this occasion the priority was speed over cost due to the consequences to the operating programme. The load was swallowed by an Antonov 124 (a massive Russian aircraft) and was on the way to the Azores within 24 hours of the first call.

With a little more time available to us for a schedule service airline, we arranged a charter with a B747 Freighter (for another B757 engine), which we diverted from Northern Europe to Madrid to collect an engine and fly to Larnaca. This was the Carriers first visit with their B747 freighter to Madrid and the operation was performed to the highest standards, with a great cooperation from the management team who worked over the weekend to set up the contract with us.

Any job - large...

As well as moving aircraft engines (which is becoming almost commonplace) we recently received an enquiry to move some engine spares from Europe for a ship that was in dock in the Caribbean Sea. Obviously every day a ship spends in dock means a loss of operating revenue, so chartering an aircraft made sound economic sense, especially as the load consisted of several oversized pieces, as well as smaller but very heavy pieces that would be difficult to accommodate on scheduled services. For this we secured the services of an Antonov 12 freighter, which has a capacity of around 90 cubic meters, to deliver the vital parts in less than 24 hours from collection

Or small...

This operation went so well that our client came back to us 3 days later with another request for the same vessel, only this time it was for 20 small pieces of electronic equipment with a total load of less than 400 kgs. This time we were able to use much smaller aircraft, a BAe 125 jet, which would usually seat 8 passengers and time from collection to delivery was a little over 12 hours.

ACS flies an airport...

Well at least the glass for one! This request was to move around 64 tonnes of glass from the United Arab Emirates (where they have enough sand to make as much glass as they like) to Central Africa for a new airport terminal that was nearing completion. This time we used an MD11 freighter to ensure that the goods were delivered promptly so that the terminal was completed on time.

Awesome

Another operation of note occured recently when a US Orchestra, a client of ours for over 20 years, encountered problems on the roads. When their truck broke down on the West Coast 36 hours before a concert on the East Coast, they knew who to call. With our extensive worldwide database, our Duty Officer was able to research the possibilities for charter overnight and fix the solution the next morning so that the instruments could be delivered to San Francisco airport and flown to New York in time for the concert. When we performed a similar rescue operation for the Orchestra in Europe in 1999 (this time it was road closures due to snowfall) they called us the "Maestro's of Chartering" This time they had only one word for us - "Awesome"

Empty Sectors and Off Line Capacity...

We regularly update our web site with aircraft capacity that is already under contract to Aircraft Chartering Services. This has several benefits to our existing and prospective clients. Where we have aircraft operating 3 or 4 flights over several dates, the opportunity to release capacity from airports where aircraft are not normally available may offer your flight programme a financial benefit.

On many of our projects, aircraft are only loaded in one direction and matching an empty flight to your flight requirements may again offer a benefit.

On our Empty Sectors page you can find a selection of empty sectors available through Aircraft Chartering Services, as well as off-station opportunities.

2008 and Beyond...

The charter market is becoming increasingly active and already we have secured forward contracts approaching an all time high and despite the recent turmoil in the travel markets, we are expecting continued profitability in this and future years.

Aircraft Chartering Services have a strong International client base from corporate to leisure travel. We look on all our clients as committed partners in business and constantly seek methods by which we can further develop these relationships. Our commitments to excellence, in quality and service, speak for themselves.

We hope that 2008 might represent the chance to add your organisation to those of our other business partners. Please do not hesitate to contact Aircraft Chartering Services if you have any projects with which we may be able to assist.

Passengers... Sports charters ... Dancing on Ice... .. Four weddings and a shopping trip...
Executive charter - the tailor made solution... Hurricane Rescue Flights... AOG spares... Any job - large or small...
ACS flies an airport... Empty Sectors... 2008 and Beyond ... Back to top ...