ACMI narrowbody and charter airline Avion Express has expanded its fleet to a total of 50 aircraft – increasing its fleet size from 16 aircraft in 2021 to 50 A320 family aircraft – an increase of 212%.
According to a global industry forecast from leading market research company MMR, the Aircraft ACMI Leasing Market was valued at US$4.96bn in 2022.
From there, it is expected to grow by an estimated six per cent between 2023 and 2029. The total market size for ACMI, estimated by 2029, is $7.32bn.
In response to this growing demand, Darius Kajokas, CEO of Avion Express, commented that Avion Express has “consistently expanded our fleet, enabling us to better serve our current clients, including Eurowings, SunExpress, Transavia Netherlands, TUI UK, Flynas, Air Baltic, British Airways Euroflyer, Air Malta, Pegasus and many more.”
The ACMI airline further intends to continue growing its fleet, increasing it to 60 aircraft, and expecting it to reach 100 A320 family aircraft by 2027.
It is also expanding into the South American market, creating an ACMI and charter airline for which it will obtain an AOC (Air Operator Certificate) in Brazil. This new airline will operate an Airbus A320 family fleet for passenger and cargo operations, including an Airbus A321F aircraft.
Avion Express’s expansion is backed by the world’s largest ACMI provider, Avia Solutions Group, which operates a fleet of more than 180 passenger and cargo aircraft globally.
ACMI stands for Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance and is also known as wet leasing and damp leasing. A typical ACMI lease term can range from one flight to 18 months. Wet leasing is when the supplying airline (the lessor) provides aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance to the customer airline (the lessee). Damp leasing is when the lessee provides all or part of its own cabin crew.
