Air Charter Service doubles-down in Beijing, acquires new facility

Air Charter Service (ACS) has moved to a new Beijing facility that is twice the size of its predecessor, in a move that will underpin the company’s increasing attention to the Chinese market.

“This is an exciting time for the Chinese aviation industry, with the government’s plans to increase the number of airports from 220 to 260 by the end of 2020,” said Wanny Wu, managing director of ACS China. “When you think that the U.S. has more than 5,000 airports and airfields, there is still a long way to go, but we are heading in the right direction.”

While the charter provider has not traditionally focused on cargo, it has taken heed of its cargo-carrying counterparts that capitalized on the growth in demand for airfreight in 2017, last year doubling the size of its cargo team.

In February, the company reported impressive end-of-year results, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) growth figure of 100 percent to US$19.6 million, from revenues of $677 million.

In an environment of ambiguity surrounding the future of the airfreight market’s growth rates, it would appear that ACS is anticipating the good times to keep on rolling. “We have ambitious expansion plans in China, and in this new office we now have the space to triple the team size in the coming years,” Wu said.