Archived news

Millions of 'trance' fans would instantly recognise one of the world's leading DJs and music producers, but they might not realise just how busy his schedule can be. Although based in his native Germany, he is a regular sell-out attraction as far away as Central and South America. To get him efficiently from appearance to appearance, he calls on Air Charter Service.

Most recently, this meant that New York's Daniel Rich needed to arrange a fast, comfortable flight from San Juan to Cartagena and then onwards. Daniel sourced a Raytheon Premier 1 light jet. It allowed the star customer to finish his Puerto Rica performance, then fly the next morning in plenty of time to appear at at a Colombian music festival the following evening. He then took to the skies again, heading for the next show.

Contact: Passenger Sales team at london@aircharter.co.uk

It was a typical English winter's day when 38 people turned up at Farnborough: overcast, gloomy and not notably warm. There was, however, anticipation and curiosity in the air. Even top managers from a global leader become a little excited at the prospect of a mystery trip.

Tim Rees, passenger charter analyst, had ensured that the events company booking the trip had everything it required, which meant keeping the destination a complete secret from the passengers. While they enjoyed a champagne reception in the private lounge, one or two did try to quiz the ground staff, but - as with everybody else capable of giving away the secret - they had been thoroughly briefed.

They boarded a Bombardier CRJ200 regional jet, only to find that the crew would happily answer any of their questions except 'the big one.' It was, therefore, still a complete surprise a little over three hours later when the VIPs landed and emerged into the warmth of Marrakesh. Discretion is an everyday attitude within Air Charter Service so, while this level of secrecy is a little beyond the norm, keeping the secret was never a problem.

Contact: Passenger Sales Team at london@aircharter.co.uk

When you plan a special event, everything about it has to be special. Carmen Vanegas, senior charter analyst, happily agreed when a customer said this to her recently. He intends to celebrate his 50th birthday by hosting a weekend party in Venice for his closest friends and family, but was finding his plans blocked by commercial carriers.

"He wants the whole party to fly together," explains Carmen, "but, even with months of advance notice, the airlines are unable to help. Although his birthday is not until June, everyone is already saying that they just do not have the seats available at the right times. It should be a celebration, but was beginning to turn into a nightmare."

The gentleman was equally unhappy at the thought of arranging the logistics for his guests to travel to different airports, taking different flights and not arriving at the same time. Knowing that everyone would have to check-in two hours before departure, then queue for baggage collection in Venice, was also a dispiriting prospect.

He liked Carmen's answer - and a booking was swiftly confirmed. The customer will meet all of his guests at the exclusive, newly refurbished London Farnborough Airport. They will have a terminal to themselves, where drinks and refreshments will be available during the 30 minutes between check-in and take-off.

Once aboard their stylish, 46-seat Canadair Regional Jet, they will enjoy a three-course "Business Class" style meal, before arriving in Venice. Upon arrival, bags will be off-loaded immediately, so that everyone will be leaving the airport within just 30 minutes of arrival. The return journey will be equally smooth, helping to ensure a hassle-free party for all concerned.

Contact: Passenger Sales Team at london@aircharter.co.uk

If you were in charge of catering for an airline, what would be your worst nightmare? High on the list might be an aircraft full of world-class chefs, all waiting to see what you are going to serve them. Fortunately for Matt Purton, in the ACS London office, this was not a problem when Practical Travel Agents contacted him to arrange just such a flight.

The Icelandic Chefs Association needed to get to Lyons for the International Chef of the Year competition. As well as their competing chefs, they wanted to take guests and well-wishers. With approaching 150 people all travelling together, scheduled flights would not have been an attractive option even if it had been feasible.

Matt arranged for the party to fly to Lyons and back in their own Boeing 737-800, cutting out check-in delays and waiting times and ensuring that take-off times were convenient for the Association and its supporters. As for the catering, everybody was thrilled by the standard of the in-flight menu: ACS happily arranged to take delivery, store, load and serve food prepared by ... members of the Icelandic Chefs

Contact: Matt Purton Passenger Sales Manager and team at london@aircharter.co.uk

Air Charter Services Senior Charter Analyst Carmen Vanegas flew a series of 5 return flights to Munster from various destinations around the UK.

With up to 50 pax on each flight Carmen really had a huge job on her hands. The flights were for an international agricultural event, chartered from a British based customer and took over two months of planning.

The specialist aircraft used for these flights was a Saab 2000-Regional Turboprop, and with every flight going exactly to plan, both customer and passengers were delighted with the service they received.

Air Charter Service provided flexible flight schedules allowing the trip to run smoothly and swiftly without the executives having to worry about missing flights. The company thanked the New York office for the fantastic service and informed them the flights were a great success.

As specialists in charter travel, and with offices in London, New York, Moscow and Dubai, Air Charter Service works round the clock to provide an unrivalled, fast response whether for the individual executive or large groups.

Contact: Passenger Sales Team at london@aircharter.co.uk

Air Charter Service's London office arranged a private aircraft charter for a party of ex-professional football players, TV football pundits and press reporters to fly down to Sardinia for a two day golfing break last month.

The aircraft charter was requested by a big sports sponsor client who was treating the VIP group, which included Sky and BBC presenters, to an all expenses paid trip to play one of Europe's best courses.

Andy Christie, who specialises in sports event flights, laid on a Saab 2000 commuter turboprop aircraft for the charter from London to Sardinia. The Saab 2000 aircraft allowed the celebrity party to fly as a single group, and the use of VIP airport terminals kept the group away from the chaos of busy airports.

Contact: Andy Christie Senior Charter Analyst and team at london@aircharter.co.uk

Air Charter Service's sports charter specialist Andy Christie was this month delighted to be asked to arrange a helicopter charter for a prominent member of the England football team the day after the Euro 2008 qualifier against Macedonia.

The star was needed for a promotional event in central London so his agents requested a helicopter to pick him up from his clubs training ground on the outskirts of the city and fly him directly to the Battersea, South London.

Andy arranged for an AS-355 Twin Squirrel to fly the player high above the traffic gridlock down below. In a helicopter with a capable cruise speed of 224 km/h the flight was completed within minutes and the star was transferred to the event by limousine.

For more information on chartering a helicopter contact Air Charter Service.

Contact: Andy Christie Senior Charter Analyst and team at london@aircharter.co.uk

With winter only just round the corner we thought now the perfect time to announce our new partnership with Elemental Adventure - specialists in providing customised heliskiing packages to some of the most exciting destinations around the world - including Canada, Alaska, Russia, Turkey and Greenland.

The role of Elemental Adventure is to provide you with the experience that you want, tailor made to your requirements and taking care of the planning of your trip down to the last detail.

In order to minimise time spent travelling and maximise your time on the snow, Air Charter Service can arrange for your private aircraft to take you directly to your destination with speed and comfort. With so many destinations only a short flight from your local airport an exclusive weekend heliskiing becomes both easy and practical.

Whether you are an experienced skier looking to pioneer first descents in the Himalayas, or a confident intermediate who has never been heliskiing before; Elemental Adventure and Air Charter Service make it happen with minimum planning and hassle on your behalf.

Visit www.eaheliskiing.com for more information on heliskiing.

With thousands of fans descending on the small islands that make up the West Indies, the local security forces needed some outside help. Assistance arrived from all over the world with forces from each of the 16 competing nations sending representatives. Due to the nature of some of their equipment and the difficulty in getting large groups on the same scheduled flight, a private aircraft charter provided the perfect solution.

One of Air Charter Service’s account managers, Tim Rees, was contacted to arrange such a charter to take 75 passengers and 5 tonnes of equipment from South Africa to Granada, with a strict schedule and a stricter budget. Tim quickly got to work finding the most cost effective charter solution. A larger aircraft would have flown direct, however with only 75 passengers this would not have been financially viable. So Tim sourced a Boeing 737-800 to take the passengers to Granada with quick fuel stops in Libreville and Sal all within the budget dictated by the client. Tim recalls,

“Due to the long sectors over water we needed an aircraft not only with the range required but also the legal requirement of an ETOPS certification and the 737-800 I sourced had both. It was the best aircraft for the job and despite high demand I managed to secure it for the dates required.”

Tim was on hand to make sure everything went smoothly and to answer any questions there may have been on the day. Being a cricket fan, Tim was more than happy to do his bit to ensure the World cup was a fantastic event for all involved.

Contact: Passenger Sales team at london@aircharter.co.uk

Air Charter Service have seen a sharp rise in demand for private charters since August's terror alert as VIP and executive travellers try to avoid crowded airports and scheduled flight security scares. The dramatic rise in business came during what is usually the slowest time of year for private aircraft charters.

The new security measures and flight delays caused serious difficulties for the business community, with routes to key European cities and transatlantic destinations heavily affected at the height of the problems.

In addition to business traffic, executives who normally hired private jets only for business trips were using them for family vacations as well.

Gavin Copus, passenger sales manager at Air Charter Service, revealed that his team had been working around the clock with business almost double the normal levels for August due to the scare.

He added: "Executives and their families feel reassured by the reliability and security that companies such as ours can offer, which is why we have seen such demand in recent weeks."

Contact Air Charter Service to charter a private aircraft

Picture this: 300 people, located in different parts of the UK, all need to attend an event in southern France. Do you really believe that any airline will have scheduled flights departing and returning at convenient times, with that many empty seats? If you do, you might also consider that these people have to be made to feel special.

This was the scenario facing Joel Fenn, ACS passenger charter executive, recently. Schneider Electric, the globally respected manufacturer, was hosting its annual company event in Nice. It needed 300 of its UK staff to attend, to help with serving the 4,000 potential customers it was expecting from across Europe.

Joel arranged for flights from Manchester and Luton, on separate Boeing 737 aircraft - one of which was brand new, making its first commercial flight. Schneider's staff received personalised ticket envelopes, were greeted by special signs at check-in and boarded their aircraft to find that even the head-rest covers carried the Schneider branding. Departure times were arranged to suit the customer, with high-quality catering enhancing the journey. For the return flights, the Schneider personnel were treated to more top-class food and drinks in their own reserved room at Nice airport, before taking off again in style.

Contact: Joel Fenn Passenger Charter Analyst and team at london@aircharter.co.uk

Air Charter Service's VIP sales team were recently able to enjoy a familiarisation flight on an 18 seat Boeing Business Jet from London to New York. The aircraft had originally been chartered into London by a royal guest and needed to reposition to New York for another flight.

A group of twelve Air Charter Service brokers from the London and New York offices were given the chance to fly on this most famous of VIP aircraft. Familiarisation trips are so valuable as they give the brokers first hand experience of the product they are selling, allowing them to better serve their clients.

The BBJ - a modern, ultra-luxurious version of the Boeing 737-700 - is considered to be at the absolute top-end of the VIP market - essentially a full scale self contained home and business centre, complete with meeting room, dining room and a bedroom for the passengers.

Contact:  Passenger Sales Team at london@aircharter.co.uk

Air Charter Service's passenger department in New York report that this years NBTA exhibition held in Chicago was a very successful event for the company.

The Air Charter Service booth at this NBTA event allowed brokers to further strengthen existing client relationships as well as generate new business opportunities with companies who have requirements for private aircraft charters.

Approximately 1,300 travel buyers, 4,200 industry suppliers, and more than 80 journalists enjoyed more than 50 educational seminars, networked in the 100,000+ square-foot exhibition hall and took in a keynote speech by former President George H.W. Bush.

For more information on business air charters please contact Air Charter Service's New York office.

Air Charter Service have played an important role in both evacuating foreign nationals and transporting aid cargo to Lebanon as the crisis in the Middle East unfolds. Large scale operations continue in order to help alleviate the suffering of civilians caught up in the conflict.

Air Charter Service's passenger department arranged four MD-82 charters from Larnaca carrying a total of 646 Scandinavian evacuees back to their homeland. The flights were completed within 24 hours of receiving the request.

In the first three weeks of the crisis Air Charter Service's cargo department have also been involved in flying relief aid to the region. As the aid effort got underway ACS arranged five AN-12 charters with cargo of food and essential goods into Larnaca (LCA).

With new aid routes now opening up ACS are also working on charters into other airports including Damascus (DAM) - where an ACS chartered DC-8 has delivered a consignment of relief goods from Copenhagen (CPH).

Air Charter Service took its clients up the river in style this month. The river in question was the River Thames, where ACS had charted Raven's Ait, a leafy island right in the middle of this famous stretch of water, and converted it into the Wild West for the evening.

ACS Managing Director Chris Leach said a big 'thank you' was due to all those who made the past two years a success period for the company - and that included its clients, staff, 'The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly', service providers - and even the media.

Guests were treated to live country and western music, entertainers and line dancing on tap for the 200 guests, and a 'Clint Eastwood' lookalike. They feasted on a dinner of ribs, barbeque chicken wings, corn and more while card sharps, knife throwers, stilt-walkers and a guitar and banjo duo entertained the revellers.

Contact:  Passenger Sales Team at london@aircharter.co.uk

Air Charter Services Senior Charter Analyst, Ros Shergold jumped into action and arranged a last minute trip on an Embraer 120 aircraft for some avid Australian football fans who work for a large asset management company in London, to watch Australia v Italy on Monday 26th July.

Despite a tight time schedule Ros even managed to arrange 5 star hospitality onboard the 20 passenger aircraft and secured a VIP coach to transfer the passengers from Saarbrucken Airport to the Kaiserslautern Stadium. The company thanked Ros for the fantastic service and enjoyed the trip despite the disappointment of Australia losing what proved a very close game.

Air Charter Service's Dornier 328 propeller aircraft (pictured right) has also proved a resounding success with fans travelling to the World Cup in Germany, notching up 9 charters before the quarter final stage.

The 31 seat aircraft, based in the UK , has proved especially popular with corporate groups travelling to the biggest games. Other key players involved in Air Charter Service's World Cup campaign have included Citation, Challenger 604, Hawker 800 and Fokker 50 aircraft.

Contact Air Charter Service for more information on chartering aircraft to sporting events.

With summer holidays in full swing Air Charter Service flew a top city banker and his family to Palma De Mallorca on a Citation Excel for a yacht holiday. However, in a problem all too common for business executives, the office called during the break and urgently required the banker for an important meeting.

The PA for the banker called Air Charter Service again to see if they could get him to the meeting in Frankfurt quickly and without fuss so as to cause minimal disruption to the holiday.

Gavin Copus and Joel Fenn immediately provided a Citation II aircraft to whisk the banker to Frankfurt, where at the VIP terminal the banker was able to change into a business suit his PA had made available for the meeting.

Following a successful meeting and business dinner in Frankfurt the banker was able to return to the waiting private jet and fly straight back to Palma De Mallorca to join his family on the yacht.

Air Charter Service's New York office recently had the privilege of sourcing a Learjet 60 for one of the biggest manufacturers of large machinery in the US.

The machinery company who were working on a tight schedule, phoned Air Charter Service at the last minute to request a charter to transport their top executives between seven major cities in just a three day period.

The team in the New York office offered a Learjet 60 which met their requirements perfectly, allowing them to fly as a single party before taking a tour of their company factories.

Air Charter Service provided flexible flight schedules allowing the trip to run smoothly and swiftly without the executives having to worry about missing flights. The company thanked the New York office for the fantastic service and informed them the flights were a great success.

Contact the New York office to find out more about chartering an aircraft.

and CaribbeanWay. Luxury Retreats are an elite travel provider specializing in luxury villa rentals and yacht charters throughout the world.

Their villa and yacht destinations include Italy, France, Greece, Morocco, South Africa and many more. The company individually select each of their 1300 villa properties in order to offer their guests the finest vacation experiences in the world.

CaribbeanWay is the sister company to Luxury Retreats and a world leader in Caribbean luxury vacation rentals, offering the villa experience to discerning travelers. Their portfolio includes more than 900 villas in over 30 destinations throughout the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and Hawaii.

For more information visit either www.luxuryretreats.com or www.caribbeanway.com

Air Charter Service recently had the opportunity of flying the music band Razorlight and Record Company officials who were performing to Radio 1's Big Weekend in Camper Down Park, Dundee. The production team called Carmen Vanegas in the build up to the event to request the charter for the stars who were working to a tight schedule.

Carmen from the London office Sourced a 48 seat VIP Canadair Regional Jet, striking the perfect chord with the stars who were looking for a luxurious and relaxing flight before the gig.

Timing was crucial and everything was scheduled to match the bands slot at the show. The flight time from Luton to Dundee was just 1 hour on this VIP jet so the group arrived perfectly fresh for their performance.

Razorlight put on a great show before returning to the waiting aircraft for the flight back to Luton.

In addition to the Razorlight charter, Air Charter Service's Music Broker Carmen also recently arranged another charter for an infamous rock star to a concert in Berlin.

The star contacted Air Charter Service requiring an immediate flight for a gig. Carmen Vanegas supplied a Premier 1 jet for the star who made it to the venue and delighted fans who had waited patiently for a number of hours.

Contact Carmen Vanegas for more information on VIP charter flights

Air Charter Service's New York office jumped into action this Easter when a VIP client on holiday in Europe called Dan Rich to see if he could arrange a private jet to the south of France at late notice.

The client and his family were on holiday in London but decided at the last minute to throw caution to the wind and spend a day in Nice - famous for its narrow streets, famous beach promenade and rich architectural heritage.

Despite the late notice on a holiday weekend Dan was able to liaise with Air Charter Service's London office and arrange for a Falcon 900EX aircraft to fly the family quickly to their destination.

The Falcon 900EX is a tri-engine VIP jet which features a stand up cabin, separate washroom, and a hostess to serve passengers - making it ideal for VIP clients looking to travel in comfort and style.

Air Charter Service's New York office recently had the privilege of sourcing a private Boeing for one of the biggest manufacturers of large machinery in the US. The charter was from White Plains to Chicago for a tour of the firms' production plants.

The machinery company who were working on a tight schedule, phoned Air Charter Service at the last minute to request a charter to transport their top clients.

Dan Rich of the New York office offered a 737-800 which met the clients requirements perfectly, allowing them to fly as a single party before taking a tour of the plants.

The flight time from White Plains to Chicago took just under two hours so the group arrived perfectly fresh for their tour.

The passengers were then able to take a second tour in another one of the companies plants based in Peoria, Illinois, before returning to the waiting aircraft for the flight back to White Plains.

The company thanked Dan for the fantastic service and informed him the day was a great success. Contact the New York office to find out more about chartering an aircraft.

Last month Air Charter Service's executive charter broker Mark Garza received an urgent request from a client late on Sunday looking to charter a private aircraft for a member of a Middle Eastern royal family. The VIP passenger was looking to fly to Paris for an exclusive function that very evening.

Despite the short notice Mark was able to secure a Beechcraft KA200 turbo propeller aircraft seating 8 passengers and it was ready to go within hours of receiving the request.

The aircraft was quickly positioned for boarding before the royal party arrived at Stapleford Airport. Within minutes the aircraft was in the sky and on its way to Paris Le Bourget where limousines waited to take the guests to the event. The red carpet was also rolled out the following day for the return flight back to London.

Contact any of our brokers 24/7 for more information on VIP charter flights.

Another major UK automotive manufacturer has called upon Air Charter Service to provide them with a charter to assist a new product launch in Turkey . The company were delighted with both the CRJ 200 regional jet provided and the use of new VIP facilities at Farnborough.

Ros Shergold handled the group charter, offering the CRJ 200 which is ideal for moving small to medium sized parties at a very economical cost.

Air Charter Service also arranged to route the private charter flight out of Farnborough to make use of it's brand new VIP terminal facility which has only just opened.

The manufacturer was able to further brand the trip with the help of Ros by placing one of the brand new car models at the entrance to the new terminal.

Contact Ros for more information on group charters.

It is months before the first ball is even kicked, but the build up to the FIFA World Cup 2006 is already reaching fever pitch with as many as 95,000 England fans alone planning to travel to Germany during the competition.

With Germany only a short flight away the tournament is ideal for fans and corporate guests looking for a day trip only, and chartering a private aircraft makes that a very real option.Air Charter Service are seeing high demand for their services, as reported in national newspapers such as The Times.

The charter boom is in large part due to their status as a leading provider of private air charters to sporting events.

Included in the aircraft available throughout the World Cup is a Dornier 328 operating exclusively for Air Charter Service. The aircraft, based in the UK , offers quality leather seating for up to 31 passengers and has already received bookings from numerous corporate groups.

In the build-up to the holiday break Air Charter Service's group charter specialist Sam Wood was able to provide a Beech 1900 regional turboprop aircraft to help a group of oil workers make it home in time to see their families for Christmas.

Despite having a well earned holiday in the pipeline, the workers based in Angola were finding it impossible to find a scheduled service out of their remote location.

However, Sam Wood was at hand to arrange a slick charter operation to ensure the workers would not be disappointed. She was able to source a Beech 1900 to fly the workers from an airfield near their base to Lanseria , South Africa.

From Lanseria the delighted workers were able to pick up scheduled services to their home cities in time for the holiday season.

A luxury jet operator called upon Air Charter Service's expertise in finding solutions after they lost availability on a jet already booked in to fly VIP clients back to Europe following a holiday in the Caribbean.

The passengers who had been on holiday on the island of St. Maarten , one of the jewels of the Caribbean, were due to fly home to Italy upon finishing their break in the sun when the operator they booked with experienced scheduling problems.

Upon receiving the request from the US operator Dan Rich quickly sourced a Falcon 900EX luxury jet to act as a replacement for the VIP guests. As well as finding the aircraft Dan was also able to arrange slots into the small St Maaten airport which can prove problematic on occasions.

The guests were more than satisfied with the replacement jet, which offered inflight entertainment as well as gourmet cuisine including champagne, caviar and a main course of Chilean sea bass among other treats.

Dubai , U.A.E. The London based charter company - who already boast other centres of excellence in New York and Moscow - were granted an official trade licence by the Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (DAFZA) earlier this month.

The Dubai office location promises to further enhance Air Charter Service's global reach and was welcomed by both clients and suppliers.

Air Charter Service FZCo will be headed by Peter Sheppard - Director of Middle East Operations - who will lead a team of highly experienced charter brokers at the new office situated within the Dubai Airport Free Zone.

Group Chairman Chris Leach revealed: "Due to Air Charter Service's dramatic growth it has been a strategic plan to open a Middle East office for sometime - and we are delighted with the choice of Dubai"

He added: "We have found the authorities very professional to deal with and we have high expectations for the future"

For more information contact the Dubai office.

Air Charter Service's Moscow office has relocated to larger new offices in the city to further facilitate the growth that the company has experienced in recent years. The new office will allow for the addition of further brokers to the team.

The new office is situated in a prestigious complex on the carriageway dubbed 'Putin Road' due to the fact many of Russia's business elite and ministers use the road to travel to work each day from the west of the city.

The office is also conveniently located on the blue metro line, between Krylaskoe and Molodezhnaya stations.

For the full address and contact details visit www.aircharter.ru