Leading aircraft charter specialist, Air Charter Service, has enjoyed an excellent first six months of its financial year, in which charter flight numbers saw significant growth, and revenues rose by 38% to more than $845 million for the six months.
Chris Leach, Chairman and Founder of ACS, said: “We are delighted with performance across every aspect of the company for the first half of the year [our financial year starts on February 1st], with all three of our main divisions performing exceptionally well, with top-line growth in charter contracts of 16%. We also saw a move to higher-value contracts, which has resulted in a revenue increase of 38%.
“Regionally, we saw particular growth in our offices across the US, Europe and Greater China, with the six offices that we opened in 2025 playing their parts in these figures, all having hit the ground running. We hope for the same for the three new offices that we have opened in the past six months, in Brussels, Monaco, and Stuttgart, which bring our total worldwide to 43.
“The strongest growth in terms of charter numbers, out of our three main divisions, came from our cargo department, which saw 49% more charters than the same period last year, with revenue rising by 38%. In part, these increases were due to supply chain disruptions caused by the conflict in Iran, the repercussions of Storm Marta with the port closures that it caused in Morocco, as well as Venezuelan relief efforts, but events such as these individually make up a small proportion of what we do, indicating strong underlying growth.
“Our private jet division saw healthy growth in charter contract numbers and revenue was up by 26%. This rise in turnover was propelled by an increased average size of aircraft, as well as seeing longer sectors, as larger customers turn to ACS for our global reach and local expertise. Jet Card sales also were also strong – up by 85% with revenue increasing by almost 60%. Margins were squeezed slightly, however, as we absorbed the costs related to the increased fuel prices.
“Our group charter division has also performed very well, with charter contracts up by 34% and revenue up 48%. The logistics of the World Cup certainly contributed to this, consisting of hundreds of flights around the US, Canada and Mexico. Along with these charters, we had the honour of flying almost 40% of the World Cup squads home from the tournament; as well as several players flying directly to holiday destinations from the States. We were also heavily involved in mass evacuations from the Middle East in March, but underlying growth is still impressive.
“Another pleasing figure is our EBITDA for the first half of 2026, which is showing a 35-40% increase, which is in line with revenue, along with profit before tax showing the company’s continued financial strength.
“Every year we talk about how exceptional events inflate our numbers; however, we are finding that we are being called upon when there are spikes in demand with increasing regularity, from sporting events to natural disasters to political unrest. We are increasingly becoming the ‘go-to’ for large organisations and governments, as we are often one of the only companies able to deliver such complex projects. We can’t foresee what we will face in the next six months, but we are confident that we are in a strong position to tackle whatever happens in H2.”
