In 1990, from a basement in the UK town of Kingston upon Thames, Chris Leach set about creating Air Charter Service with a focus on providing first-rate service and excellent customer relations. Whether providing VIP travel for one person or a whole team, or transporting heavy freight. In 2015 Air Charter Service announced that it would be investing £10 million in charter technology over the course of the next five years.
Chronology
1990 In the basement of Chris Leach's house, ACS is born. 1993 ACS gets involved in relief operations following Somalia's civil war. Chris Leach works on the ground in war-torn Mogadishu. 1994 ACS charters a number of An-124 aircraft to Rwanda to deliver aid following the genocide. 1995 ACS opens its first overseas offices in Moscow, Russia and an operations base for its new managed fleet in Ostend, Belgium. 1999 On behalf of the Red Cross, ACS creates an air bridge in Kosovo. 2001 ACS rushes aid to Bangladesh following monsoon floods. 2004 ACS expands into the US with the opening of the New York office. 2005 Following the Indian Ocean tsunami, ACS gets heavily involved in completing relief charters and positioning helicopters on long-term lease. ACS enters the Middle Eastern market by opening an office in Dubai. 2006 In response to the Pakistan earthquake, ACS arranges helicopters for the British Government, as well as many other charters for relief agencies. 2007 ACS expands its European presence, opening offices in Spain and France. 2008 ACS establishes a foothold in the Asian market with an operation in Hong Kong. 2009 ACS continues its continental expansion, opening an office in South Africa. 2010 ACS opens four new offices in Germany, Canada, Brazil and a second one for Russia in St Petersburg. 100 cargo and passenger charters are organised to deliver aid and key personnel to Haiti following the devastating earthquake. Following the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland hundreds of aircraft are chartered after European airspace reopens 2011 ACS expands its coverage in USA, with the opening of the Los Angeles office. Over 15,000 people evacuated from Libya, Egypt and Tunisia on ACS chartered aircraft. 2012 Launch of the jet card division and subsequent products. ACS opens offices in India, China and Kazakhstan ACS arranges regular civilian passenger flights between the UK and the Falkland Islands, coordinating regular rotations throughout the year. 2013 Chris Leach is given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Cargo Airline of the Year Awards for his life's work in aviation ACS wins the ACW Air Cargo Charter Broker of the Year Award ACS wins PA Charter Broker of the Year Award. 2014 ACS retains the ACW and PA awards and picks up the CAN Charter Broker of the Year Award. ACS expands within North America, opening an office in Houston, Texas. The New York office celebrates its 10th Anniversary. 2015 This year marks the 25th anniversary of the company's formation. ACS retains the ACW, ACN and PA Charter Broker of the Year Awards. ACS announces a major investment an onboard courier / hand-carry division. ACS opens a new office in Miami, USA and a Swiss office in Geneva. 2016 ACS expands into a sixth continent, opening a new office in Sydney, Australia. ACS helps coordinate a 48 sector, six continent world tour for heavy metal band, Iron Maiden. ACS once again wins the ACW, ACN and PA awards. 2017 ACS wins the S Times, ACW and PA awards and Chris Leach picks up the S Times Lifetime Achievement Award. 2018 ACS opens offices in Manhattan and San Francisco. 2019 ACS opens an office in Atlanta.
