Air Charter Service’s cargo charters soar in 2017

The increased demand for airfreight services in 2017 appears to have translated into bolstered demand for cargo charters. U.K.-based charter broker, Air Charter Service (ACS), reported revenues of U.S. $677million for its fiscal year 2017 that ended on Jan. 31, a 39 percent year-over-year increase over 2016.  Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) meanwhile, outpaced revenue growth with a 100 percent increase, to $19.6 million.

Cargo charter flights, which accounted for about one third of ACS’ 15,000 contracts in 2017, jumped by 11 percent year-over-year, to 4,300 contracts.  Andy Christie, Group Director of Private Jet Charters at ACS added, “Many of the contracts that we fly are round trips or multi-sector, meaning that in terms of actual flights, the number is well over 15,000.”

ACS cargo charter operations benefitted from both strong underlying demand, as well as one-off boosts resulting from the hurricanes that swept through the Caribbean and southern states of the United States.  CEO Justin Bowman said, “Our cargo figure of £213 million ($300 million) was somewhat boosted by charters related to the hurricanes in the Caribbean and the southern States of America, along with other one-off contracts, but underlying growth is still impressive.”