As the son of a pilot, Chris Leach had aviation in his blood, and in 1990 from the basement of his home in Kingston Upon Thames he looked at the aircraft charter market and saw an opportunity. Although saturated it was still missing something and his experience in the aviation industry, starting with Saturn Airways in the 70s had taught that personal service is what makes a difference. Customers want to be treated well and they want to trust who they’re dealing with – the latter being something many companies were neglecting.
Chris believed there was space for another aircraft charter company, but one that focused solely on exceptional service and building long lasting relationships with its customers. He believed that if you went that extra mile for them then they would always come back and with that blueprint he would build a business, thus Air Charter Service (ACS) was born.
After struggling to pay the mortgage whilst managing his fledgling business, Chris offered his spare room to Kingston University to house a student. Little did he know that that student, Justin Bowman, would turn out to be an aviation enthusiast whom, after spending his placement year working with Chris in the basement, would end up the CEO of ACS today.
Soon they outgrew the basement and required more staff, so a small office above a shop in Kingston Upon Thames became the new ACS Headquarters. After three further office moves, and now with over 500 staff worldwide, ACS is a truly global company, but that small, family mentality is still at the heart of our operations.
Whether a client is entrusting us to fly just them, other passengers or important cargo, we promise a level of personal service that goes beyond their highest expectations, while ensuring complete peace of mind throughout the entire experience.
Decades later, with a network of offices spanning North America, South America, Europe, Africa, CIS, Middle East and Asia, ACS is the proud supplier to thousands of clients worldwide, in fact we arrange 23,000 charter flights every year.
Despite this rags to riches story, our commitment to customer service has not faltered and remains the foundation of the business to this day.
