What is ACMI?

ACMI – aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance – sometimes called “wet leasing”.

It is a massive part of the air travel industry whereby airlines buy in aircraft to overcome shortfalls in capacity.  These planes have to operate within the norms of the carrier’s national licensing rules often painted white and with the cabin crew in an agreed uniform, sometimes the colour of the family airline and sometimes neutral. Even carriers such as British Airways have a requirement to hire in aircraft. Don’t get alarmed when boarding an aircraft which is not what you have booked.

In 2021, the aircraft ACMI market size was valued at $4.2bn and is projected to reach $8.8bn by 2030. The global market is driven by seasonality and different demand peaks per calendar year. For example, pre-Covid in 2019, out of 1.15bn passengers carried by airlines, 650m were carried in June – October (summer), which means 31% more passengers when compared to the winter season. And the demand in South America, Asia Pacific and Africa regions is opposite to Europe.

To meet the growing ACMI demand after the Covid-19 pandemic, KlasJet, an EU-based private air charter company, is joining its parent Avia Solutions Group and expanding its service portfolio by adding passenger ACMI to its services list.

The Avia Solutions Group, with its services, operations and presence, covers all continents and for many years has been developing its relationships with airlines, ACMI operators, MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) and training services providers. Avia has 140 aircraft in service, by SmartLynx Airlines, Avion Express, Bluebird Nordic, and Magma Aviation.  These names are not known for the most part by the general public.  

Rita Domkute, CEO, KlasJet, explains: “We plan to add five Economy class Boeing aircraft with a capacity for 189 passengers to our fleet this year, and by the end of 2023 we should have 15 more aircraft for ACMI operations. This passenger aircraft type wasn’t in our group ACMI companies fleet list till now.”

https://aviasg.com

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