A Cost-Efficient, Sustainable Option To Flying

“Chartered flights are generally safer than commercial flights that run on a tight schedule. Private charters can take bigger deviations in the flight paths and fly higher in order to avoid turbulent and stormy weather.”

“The cost of a charter flight varies according to the type of aircraft and the final destination. Aircraft ownership is expensive; you are better off chartering an aircraft instead.”

“There will be heavier pressure on the private air charter to address environmental concerns and embody sustainable practices. Here at ACS, we give our customers the opportunity to completely offset their carbon footprints for a small add-on fee.”

From its small beginnings in the basement of a London house in 1990, Air Charter Service (ACS) has grown to become a leading name in private aviation charter. Today the company employs over 600 staff spread across a global network of regional offices spanning six continents.

The award-winning company manages over 28,000 private charter flights per year, racking up US$1.15 billion in annual revenue. Named the ‘STT International Air Charter Provider of the Year’ and the ‘ACW Charter Broker of the Year’ for several years running, it prides itself on excellent customer service standards. A member of various leading international aviation trade organisations, ACS has earned various types of ISO accreditations.

British Brendan Toomey, who has worked for the company for the past 13 years, starting out as a trainee junior broker, has worked his way up to become the CEO of the Singapore branch which opened in March 2020. He now oversees regional operations in Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia.

A Personal Touch

“Whether we are flying passengers or important cargo, ACS delivers a personal touch that goes beyond what is expected of us. Some customers come with very specific needs, concerns, or catering requests. Our aim is to make the entire customer experience a seamless one from start till end.” The company has a dedicated team of well-trained account managers who manage the expectations and requirements of each client 24/7.

ACS has access to a wide range of aircrafts, from small jets for urgent package deliveries to large freighters for oversized cargo consignments, from light jets such as a Cessna Citation Bravo to mid-sized planes such as an Embraer Legacy 500, all the way to ultra-long range heavy jets such as Bombardier Global 7500 or Gulfstream G650.

“We also offer chartered helicopters and private jets to MNCs, government agencies, and event organisers for meetings, events, conferences, film productions, company incentive trips, and more. We also offer door-to-door personalised onboard courier services for urgent deliveries. Some of our secondary service offerings include emergency evacuations, repatriations, and delivering humanitarian aid to remote areas.

Customer Comfort and Safety

The primary objectives of ACS are customer comfort and safety. Chartered flights are safer in general compared to commercial flights that run on a tight schedule because private charters are at liberty to take bigger deviations in the flight paths and fly higher in order to avoid turbulent and stormy weather, Toomey explains.

“During the Covid-19 pandemic, chartering a private jet really took off and a lot of new customers came out of the woodworks. Customers who normally would never use a private jet started to flood the market. Cargo freight charter also boomed during this period as people needed to ship things over such as official Covid-19 test result slips.”

Toomey remembers assisting a client who had to bring over his elderly parents from India to Singapore when the former had a huge spike in severe Covid-19, as well as flying entire families back to Cambodia to reunite with their relatives. “Heart-warming stories such as these make my job worthwhile.

Cost Effective

“The cost of a charter flight varies based on the type of aircraft and the final destination. We are happy for prospective and existing clients to reach out to get a rough idea and quote of the costs involved based on their respective requests.

“City location pairs such as flights to/from Manila, Bangkok, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur are the most popular routes. Next would be to leisure holiday destinations such as Phuket and Koh Samui. Recently, we have also been getting a lot of enquires for Bhutan, Hua Hin and Komodo Island.”

Why do customers pay a premium to fly private charter besides privacy and convenience? “Aircraft ownership is expensive. You would have to do a lot of flights, i.e., a minimum of 200-300 hours per year of flying at the bare minimum to justify owning your own private jet,” he replies. “Otherwise, it does not make financial sense, so you are better off just chartering an aircraft instead.”

An Emphasis on Sustainability

Asia is an exciting market for ACS. “We opened our Bangkok office last year and our goal is to expand and launch an office in every country (in Southeast Asia). Indonesia is a very interesting market for us as well. Their economy is growing rapidly and the number of millionaires there is vastly increasing. Ditto for Malaysia which is another fast grower. The European market is already saturated and matured; meanwhile, demand for private air charter is steadily rising all over Asia.”

Toomey foresees an industrywide emphasis on sustainability. “There will be more pressure on the private air charter market to address environmental concerns and embody sustainable practices such as using bio aviation fuel. Here at ACS, we give our customers the opportunity to completely offset their carbon footprints for a small add-on fee.” ACS also complies with the industry’s best practices and is a zero-carbon company in terms of administrative processes.

“Ultimately, the bulk of the responsibility lies on the shoulders of the OEMs and aircraft manufacturers to come up with more fuel-efficient private jets, and so forth.”

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