ACS's group charters of 2023

Airbus A340-300 VIP

For clients who wanted an elevated charter experience coupled with more cabin and baggage space, our group charter experts regularly sourced VIP aircraft designed for high-end group travel.

The Airbus A340-300 VIP has been a consistently popular choice amongst clients and we had the opportunity to film onboard ahead of a charter we’d organised this year. Our Group Commercial Jets Director, Matt Purton, and Commercial Jets VP for North America, Mark Hayter, were there to talk us through why the one-of-a-kind aircraft is so sought-after, as well as some of the perks you can expect when chartering the plane.

The A340 VIP can fly non-stop for about 14 hours, completing long-haul flights such as Los Angeles to London and London to Johannesburg or Tokyo. Its large cabin, which boasts three enclosed lavatories and a full refreshment centre, is matched by a sizable cargo hold with space for about 1,000 items of luggage.

Customers often ask us to book the A340 VIP for big celebrations like weddings, birthdays and engagement parties. Our Flight Services team can tailor the interior with branded headrest covers, coasters, napkins and amenity kits – anything the client wants to ensure their event or brand is front and centre for a truly memorable flight.

Read our spotlight on the A340 VIP to learn more about this aircraft.

Arranging Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe’s world tour

One of the most memorable Airbus A340 VIP charters we’ve arranged this year was for the joint world tour of rock bands Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe. Having handled Iron Maiden’s world tour in 2016, we’re well-versed in helping to transport famous musicians around the globe, and drew on this experience and expertise to pull off the charter.

Our group charter and cargo teams worked together to find the ideal aircraft, which needed to have 80 business class seats for the bands and their entourage and nine lower deck pallet positions for 23 tonnes of instruments, costumes and equipment. The A340 VIP fit the bill and could fly directly from Buenos Aires to Miami on the final leg of the tour.

Once the charter was booked, we arranged a customised livery and branded headrest covers. Three of our team then accompanied the charter for the full 18 days, ensuring everything ran smoothly with quick FBO turnaround times.

Flying 2,000 fans to the Champions League Final

The Champions League final is one of the biggest events on the footballing calendar. This year, Manchester City fans travelled in their thousands from the UK to Istanbul, Turkey, for the showpiece against Inter Milan – and we helped them get there.

A travel company contacted us before the big game to arrange flights for over 2,000 fans, sponsors, family and friends. Having been sourcing aircraft since before the semi-finals in anticipation of such a request, we were able to quickly organise 12 charters at short notice.

Our customer experience team sprung into action to arrange personalised headrests, lanyards and scarves on several of the aircraft. On the day of the flights, we had representatives on the ground in Manchester to ensure passengers boarded smoothly and departed on schedule.

Humanitarian flights

For over 30 years, we’ve helped governments and NGOs with time-sensitive group charters in the aftermath of natural disasters, political unrest, hostilities and corporate emergencies. This year has been no different, with several global incidents requiring the urgent transportation of people to and from disaster zones.

One such event was the devastating earthquakes in Turkey in February. We worked around the clock to arrange more than 40 charter flights to Turkey and Syria, some of which included the movement of search-and-rescue teams flying in to assist with the relief effort. Other disasters and conflicts needing our rapid emergency response this year have included floods in Libya, cyclones in Guam and Myanmar, and an earthquake in Morocco.

Arranging a VIP flight for a TV show launch

Our ability to pull off a truly tailored charter was put to the test this year, when a communications agency asked us to organise a promotional flight from Madrid to Ibiza and back for the launch of a new television series.

As the series is set on an island, the client wanted to fly the group of 70 influencers, journalists, actors and production staff to a similar setting for the event. They also wanted the flight to be an event in itself, complete with branding, photographers and entertainment.

We sourced a Boeing B737 with a branded livery, but more was needed to make this charter special. Our Flight Services team arranged private check-in desks at a premium-access terminal, hired actors dressed as characters from the show to welcome passengers onboard, and even handed out iPads so they could watch the first episode while in the air.

This isn’t the only time our Flight Services team has been called into action this year – they regularly arrange extras like onboard branding and premium catering for clients seeking an elevated charter experience. We sat down with two of the team in June to find out all about a day in the life of an ACS Flight Services Executive.

Getting models, celebrities and influencers to events

In May, we received two very different group charter requests in the U.S. and France.

First, an entertainment marketing agency asked us to help arrange a domestic flight for 60 models and celebrities to an event in Florida. When the Embraer E190 we sourced became unavailable just 10 days before departure, we leveraged our operator relationships to negotiate a discounted rate for an Airbus A320. An ACS representative was at the airport to welcome passengers and ensure they departed smoothly.

Meanwhile, in France, a travel agent needed a round-trip aircraft charter to fly 180 social media influencers to the Swerve Festival in Saudi Arabia. The client had a tight budget, so we recommended a cost-effective Boeing B777 and kept costs even lower by securing space on an empty leg. At the customer’s request, we then liaised with our local contacts in Saudi Arabia to arrange for the aircraft to remain on the ground until the return flight.

Flying students around the world

As well as helping to transport celebrities, influencers, business executives and football fans around the world in 2023, we’ve also arranged last-minute group charters for students.

At the start of the year, we had 24 hours to help the events agency of a hospitality school in Malaga fly 140 students to Madrid for their connecting flight home after completing a course, before taking the next group of students back to Malaga to begin their studies. We sourced a B737-800, which could operate the flights overnight ahead of its next scheduled service, and arranged for the passengers to travel with extra luggage free-of-charge.

Across the pond, our team in the U.S. had under two weeks to arrange a charter for 245 students and staff travelling from New York to California. With no wide-bodied aircraft available at short notice, we sourced a smaller Boeing B737 and Airbus A319 instead, overcoming the reduced payload by arranging for one charter to depart from JFK Airport while the other flew from Westchester with a fuel stop en route.

Organising a charter for a wedding party

We’re asked many times a year to book luxury aircraft charters for wedding parties, and 2023 has been no different. One of the most elaborate requests was pulled off by our team in Dubai, who were asked by a travel agent to help fly 180 guests to a wedding in Turkey and back. The bride and groom wanted the flight to be fully personalised, so we needed to pull out all the stops to ensure it was a charter to remember.

We used our aircraft knowledge and local contacts to source an Airbus A320, which had plenty of room onboard for the large party and their luggage. Our experts then set to work personalising the flight with headrest covers, napkins, coasters, badges and check-in banners branded with the couple’s names. We also brought in specialist catering and ensured the aircraft was stocked with their preferred alcoholic beverages. Finally, we arranged for a piece of music the client had made to be played during the flight.

To book your group charter for 2024, contact your local ACS charter experts today.