ACMI & Aircraft Leasing
We source and coordinate leased capacity for airlines, operators, governments and tour operators — short-term ACMI cover through to multi-year dry leases — working with appropriately licensed lessors and operators. SkyBridge Jets is a broker and adviser; we do not own or operate aircraft.
Lease Structures
The structure determines who holds operational control, who carries the regulatory burden and where the risk sits. Choosing it correctly at the outset saves far more than negotiating the rate.
Fastest route to added capacity: AOG recovery, delayed deliveries, seasonal peaks, route launches and crew shortfalls. The lessee normally pays fuel, navigation, handling, airport and route charges.
A middle ground — often the lessee supplies cabin crew while the lessor supplies flight crew, or the lessee carries its own insurance. There is no globally uniform legal definition of a damp lease; what it means in practice is set by the contract and the regulator involved.
Fleet growth, replacement aircraft and long-term capacity without outright purchase. Requires the lessee to hold the relevant operational approvals and to complete technical acceptance, registration and insurance work before entry into service.
Protecting a published schedule during unscheduled maintenance, disruption or a delayed return to service, subject to aircraft and crew availability, slots and traffic rights.
Short-Term ACMI
Covering an unexpectedly grounded aircraft so the published schedule survives, where a compliant aircraft and crew can be positioned in time.
Bridging the gap when an ordered aircraft slips, so the network plan and slot portfolio are not lost.
Summer leisure programmes, winter ski rotations and holiday peaks where owning the extra aircraft year-round makes no commercial sense.
Testing a new market with leased capacity before committing to owned or long-leased metal.
Where the aircraft exists but the qualified crew do not, an ACMI arrangement brings both together.
Hajj, Umrah and comparable seasonal movements requiring widebody capacity for a defined window.
Multi-month charter series for federations, tour operators and event programmes.
Relief, evacuation and government programmes needing passenger, combi or freighter capacity at short notice.
Long Term
Long-term dry leases support fleet growth, aircraft replacement and network expansion without the capital commitment of purchase. We source regional turboprops, narrowbodies, widebodies, freighters and, where the requirement calls for it, business and VIP aircraft — always through third-party owners, lessors and operators rather than from any inventory of our own.
Dry lease induction is a project, not a booking. Depending on the jurisdiction it can require the type on the lessee's AOC and operations specification, technical acceptance of the airframe and records, registration or import and the associated airworthiness work, insurance placement, security deposits or guarantees, and an agreed maintenance and redelivery regime. Planning that sequence properly is usually what determines the realistic in-service date.
Where outright ownership is the better answer — or where a purchase is intended to be placed on lease — our aircraft sales and acquisition advisory covers sourcing, due diligence coordination and transaction support. For a single urgent freight movement rather than sustained capacity, see ad-hoc air cargo charter.
Aircraft Categories
| Category | Representative types | Indicative capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Regional turboprop | ATR 72, Dash 8 | Approx. 70–80 seats |
| Regional jet | CRJ, Embraer E-Jet family | Approx. 70–120 seats |
| Narrowbody | A320 family, 737 family | Approx. 150–220 seats |
| Widebody | A330, 767, 777, 787 | Approx. 230–400 seats |
| Freighter | 737F, A330F, 767F, 777F | Approx. 20–105 t payload |
| Business & VIP | ACJ, BBJ and large-cabin business jets | Approx. 12–60 seats |
SkyBridge Jets holds no standing inventory. Types listed are examples of what the market contains, not aircraft currently available to us.
Before You Enquire
Aircraft type required and acceptable alternatives.
Number of aircraft and whether they are needed simultaneously.
Year of manufacture or age limits, if your regulator or financiers impose them.
Passenger or cargo configuration, including seat count and class layout.
Operating base and the routes or regions to be flown.
Required start date and the term you are contracting for.
Planned monthly utilisation and the MGH you are prepared to underwrite.
Which of crew, maintenance and insurance you need from the lessor.
Your AOC status and jurisdiction, for any dry lease.
Commercial expectation — a budget range, even a rough one, saves a full round of options.
Security position: deposit, bank guarantee or parent-company guarantee available.
Maintenance status and delivery condition requirements, including redelivery expectations.
Process & Due Diligence
Aircraft leasing attracts a great deal of unverified circulation. Our process exists to filter it, protect both sides' confidentiality and keep the transaction on a documented footing.
01
We confirm who we are acting for and, on the supply side, that the party offering an aircraft actually has authority to offer it. Chains of intermediaries without written authority are declined.
02
Company standing, ownership, regulatory status and sanctions screening on both sides before any sensitive information is exchanged.
03
Type, variant, configuration, engine standard and identity confirmed. Serial numbers and registrations are shared only under confidentiality and only when the process genuinely requires it.
04
Maintenance status, time and cycles to the next major events, life-limited part status, modification standard and records completeness reviewed by the lessee's technical team or an appointed specialist.
05
Commercial heads of terms agreed in writing before either party invests in inspection and legal work.
06
Physical inspection and records review, with any rectification and delivery-condition items agreed and documented.
07
Wet-lease approvals, foreign-operator permits, registration, import and airworthiness work are progressed by the operator, the lessee and their regulatory and legal advisers. SkyBridge Jets coordinates the timetable and keeps the critical path visible.
08
Lease documentation is negotiated by the parties and their lawyers. We stay engaged through induction, entry into service and the life of the contract as the commercial point of contact.
SkyBridge Jets provides commercial coordination and introductions. We do not provide legal, tax, airworthiness or accounting advice; those opinions should come from your own qualified advisers, and we will work alongside them.
Commercial Terms
Two Sides of the Desk
Send the requirement with as much of the checklist above as you have. We qualify the supply side before it reaches you, so you review structured options rather than forwarded circulars, and we keep your requirement confidential.
Submit a Leasing RequirementIf you have aircraft or crewed capacity to place, tell us the type, availability window, base and the structures you will consider. We ask for written authority to offer and will not circulate aircraft details speculatively. Use the same form and select the capacity-offering option.
Register Available CapacityLeasing FAQ
Under an ACMI or wet lease the lessor provides the aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance and operates the aircraft on its own AOC, so operational control stays with the lessor. Under a dry lease the lessee takes the aircraft only and operates it on its own AOC, holding operational control and providing crew, maintenance and insurance. A damp lease sits between the two — typically some but not all of crew, maintenance and insurance come from the lessor. There is no globally uniform legal definition of a damp lease; the split is defined by the contract and the regulators involved.
It depends on what is genuinely available and where. AOG cover is worked immediately and driven by aircraft and crew positioning, slots, and any wet-lease approvals or traffic rights needed on the routing. A new seasonal contract normally needs a longer runway for regulatory filings, crew training and technical acceptance. We would rather give you a realistic date supported by the operator than a headline turnaround we cannot control.
Short-term ACMI is commonly arranged from a few weeks of AOG cover up to a full season, with longer ACMI contracts running a year or more. Dry leases are usually multi-year with structured maintenance reserves and defined redelivery conditions. Actual terms are set by the lessor, the aircraft and the market at the time.
MGH is the minimum number of block hours per month you contract to pay for whether or not you fly them. A higher MGH usually buys a lower block-hour rate, because the lessor's utilisation risk falls. Getting the MGH right against your planned schedule matters more to total cost than shaving the headline rate.
For a wet lease, the lease itself generally needs regulatory approval, along with foreign-operator permits and traffic rights on the routes to be flown. For a dry lease, the lessee needs the aircraft type on its AOC and operations specification, plus registration or import, airworthiness certification, insurance and technical acceptance. These are filed by the operator, the lessee and their advisers; SkyBridge Jets coordinates the sequence rather than filing on their behalf.
Typically a cash security deposit or an acceptable bank or parent-company guarantee, sometimes supported by letters of credit, together with evidence of insurance and financial standing. The size and form depend on the term, the aircraft, the jurisdiction and the lessee's credit profile. Being clear about your security position early makes the process substantially faster.
No. SkyBridge Jets is a broker, arranger and advisory firm. We do not own aircraft, we do not hold standing inventory and we do not hold an air operator certificate. Every aircraft is owned or operated by an appropriately licensed third party, and every lease is contracted directly between the lessor and the lessee.
Yes. Requirements and availability are handled on a need-to-know basis, with non-disclosure agreements where appropriate, and sensitive identifiers are withheld until the counterparty is qualified and confidentiality is in place. We do not publish or circulate client requirements.
Yes. Freighter and combi ACMI is a regular requirement for e-commerce peaks, project cargo lanes and relief programmes. If the need is a single urgent movement rather than sustained capacity, an ad-hoc cargo charter is usually the better structure.
ACMI / Leasing Enquiry
Airlines, operators, governments, owners and lessors. Share the requirement or the capacity you have to place, and our leasing desk will respond with a structured next step — under non-disclosure where required.
SkyBridge Jets acts as a broker, arranger and adviser. We do not hold an air operator certificate, do not own or operate aircraft and hold no standing inventory. All flights are performed, and all leases are entered into, by appropriately licensed third-party operators, owners and lessors under separately negotiated agreements. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, technical or financial advice.
Tell us the type, term, base and structure. We will come back with a qualified, confidential next step.