HISTORY

The Mountfitchet Group companies: A history of aviation.

Air Charter Service

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. He believed that if you went that extra mile for your customers then they would always come back and with that blueprint he would build a business, thus Air Charter Service (ACS) was born.

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 25,000 charter flights every year.

Voluxis

Voluxis started life as Berrard Aviation, before joining the Mountfitchet Group in 2016 and undergoing a full rebrand. Today, Voluxis has offices in both London Biggin Hill and Farnborough, and offers a fleet of high performing aircraft, as well as a range of services including private charter, aircraft management and sales & marketing.

A history of ACS

1990

Air Charter Service was launched from the basement of Chris Leach’s house in Kingston-Upon-Thames in the UK.

1990

ACS works on relief operations with Chris Leach on the ground in war-torn Mogadishu and arranges the charter of several AN-124’s to Rwanda to deliver aid.

1995

ACS expands and opens its first overseas offices in Moscow, Russia and an operations base for its new managed fleet in Ostend, Belgium.

1999

On behalf of the Red Cross, ACS creates an air bridge in Kosovo.

2001

ACS rushes aid to Bangladesh following monsoon floods.

2004

ACS expands into the USA with the opening of the New York office.

2005

ACS enters the Middle Eastern market by opening an office in Dubai. Following the Indian Ocean tsunami, ACS also gets heavily involved in completing relief charters and positioning helicopters on long-term lease.

2006

In response to the Pakistan earthquake, ACS arranges helicopters for the British Government, as well as many other charters for relief agencies.

2007

ACS expands its European presence, opening offices in Spain and France.

2008

ACS establishes a foothold in the Asian market with an operation in Hong Kong.

2009

ACS continues its continental expansion, opening an office in South Africa.

2010

ACS opens four new offices in Germany, Canada, Brazil and a second one for Russia in St Petersburg. ACS also arranges 100 cargo and passenger charters to deliver aid and key personnel to Haiti following the devastating earthquake, and following the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland hundreds of aircraft are chartered after European airspace reopens.

2011

ACS expands its coverage in the USA, with the opening of the Los Angeles office. This year ACS also arranges charters to evacuate over 15,000 people from Libya, Egypt and Tunisia.

2012

ACS launches their jet card division and subsequent products as well as opening offices in India, China and Kazakhstan. ACS also arranges regular civilian passenger flights between the UK and the Falkland Islands, coordinating regular rotations throughout the year.

2013

Chris Leach is given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Cargo Airline of the Year Awards for his life’s work in aviation, while ACS wins the ACW Air Cargo Charter Broker of the Year Award and the PA Charter Broker of the Year Award.

2014

ACS expands within North America, opening an office in Houston, Texas. The New York office celebrates its 10th Anniversary and ACS also retains the ACW and PA awards and picks up the CAN Charter Broker of the Year Award.

2015

This year marks ACS’s 25th anniversary, and they open two new offices, one in Miami, USA and one in Geneva, Switzerland. They also announce a major investment in the onboard courier/hand-carry division and retain the ACW, ACN and PA Charter Broker of the Year Awards.

2016

ACS expands into a sixth continent, opening a new office in Sydney, Australia. ACS also helps coordinate a 48 sector, six continent world tour for heavy metal band Iron Maiden and win the ACW, ACN and PA awards.

2016

Interflight Air Charter (now VOLUXIS) becomes part of the Mountfitchet Group.

2017

ACS wins the S Times, ACW and PA awards and Chris Leach picks up the S Times Lifetime Achievement Award.

2017

Interflight Air Charter (now VOLUXIS) moves to new offices and an upgraded hangar.

2018

ACS opens offices in Manhattan and San Francisco, as well as collecting the ACW award and the Asian Business Aviation Association’s ‘Best Charter Broker’ award.

2018

Interflight rebrands it’s aircraft charter and aircraft management divisions to VOLUXIS.

2019

ACS opens new offices in Atlanta and Shanghai, and wins the S Times and ACN awards. This year they also arranged flights for 500 tons of aid, and almost 100 doctors for aid agencies and governments during the Mozambique cyclone.

2020

ACS opens offices in Singapore and Chicago amidst a global pandemic as well as arranging repatriations for over 25,000 people and transporting 30,000 tonnes of cargo around the globe.

2021

The Mountfitchet Group turnover exceeds $1bn for the first time, as a turnover of $1.14bn is announced.

2022

ACS opens three new offices in Washington DC, London Gatwick and Brisbane, expanding its presence in key markets.

2023

ACS has its biggest year of expansion, with four new locations: Boston, New Delhi, Mexico City and Bangkok.

2024

ACS continues to expand its European presence, with three more locations: Munich, Manchester and Dublin.

2025

ACS had a record-breaking year in 2025, with 35,467 charter flights and its biggest year of expansion to date with six new locations: Montreal, Milan, Cologne, Perth, Riyadh and Barcelona.