ACMI leasing for freighter capacity programmes

Aircraft type or category, route or network, start date, duration, guaranteed monthly block hours, frequency and sectors, payload profile, crew base, handling split and regulatory context.

ACMI and wet lease describe the same structure in practice: the lessor supplies aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance, the lessee pays fuel, airport, handling and permits. In a dry lease only the aircraft is provided and the lessee operates it under its own AOC with its own crew.

Peak-season cover typically runs one to six months, network gap cover six to twelve, and fleet-replacement programmes longer. Short ad-hoc needs of a few rotations are usually cheaper as charter than as an ACMI contract.

ACMI stands for Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance. The lessor provides those four elements and operates the flights under its own certificate, while the lessee pays for fuel, airport and ATC charges, ground handling and permits. It is the standard structure when an airline, integrator or forwarder needs capacity for a period rather than a single flight, and it is usually contracted against guaranteed monthly block hours.

In a wet lease the aircraft comes with crew, maintenance and insurance, and the flights are operated under the lessor's air operator certificate. In a dry lease only the aircraft is supplied, and the lessee crews, maintains, insures and operates it under its own certificate. A wet lease can start in weeks, a dry lease requires the lessee to hold the operational and regulatory capability itself, so the choice is driven as much by licensing as by economics.

A damp lease sits between the two: the lessor supplies the aircraft and flight crew, while the lessee provides cabin crew or certain operational elements. In freighter operations the term is used loosely, so the important step is defining exactly which crew, maintenance and insurance obligations sit on each side. We put that split in writing before the contract, not after.

From a few weeks of seasonal peak cover to multi-year programmes, subject to regulatory scope in the operating jurisdictions and to the lessor's own fleet planning. Short-term cover is typically priced with a higher hourly rate and a lower guaranteed block hour commitment, while long programmes trade rate against volume and duration. European operations additionally sit under wet-lease approval rules that must be checked for the specific routing.

Guaranteed block hours are the minimum number of flight hours per month the lessee pays for, whether or not they are flown. They exist because the lessor commits an aircraft, a crew rotation and maintenance capacity to your operation and cannot resell that capacity. Setting them realistically against your planned frequency is the single biggest lever on ACMI economics.

Aircraft type or capacity category, route or network, planned start date and duration, guaranteed monthly block hours, frequency and sector pattern, required payload, crew basing and rotation assumptions, the split of handling and fuel responsibilities, and the regulatory context in the countries involved. With that we can approach operators that hold the right approvals rather than testing the whole market. Send an RFP document if you already have one.

Yes. Airlines and integrators use us for sub-charter and ad-hoc capacity when their own fleet is committed, a rotation goes technical or a peak exceeds planned capacity. The requirement is handled with the same confidentiality as any other mandate, and operator identities are not disclosed to third parties.