ACC eyes up further African possibilities
Aviation services provider, ACC Aviation Group, is increasingly looking to Africa as a major area of its future operations, writes Alan Dron.
The UK-based group covers a swathe of activities, from ACMI (wet-leasing) and charters to interior refurbishments, management of aviation assets and strategic business consultancy services.
With offices in New York, Rome, Dubai and Kuala Lumpur, the group has now expanded its reach to Africa by opening an office in Addis Ababa.
The bulk of ACC’s activities are in the ACMI sector but, said Daniel Huggins, the company’s regional VP - Africa: “We’re looking at Africa not just from the leasing perspective, but growing our activity from there.”
ACC has already been operating there for close to three years: “In 2016, as part of a wider group strategy of geographic expansion, we began to focus on business development in Africa; the plan was always to open an office in year three,” explained Huggins.
Johannesburg, Nairobi and Addis Ababa were the three locations being studied as the site for ACC’s first permanent presence on the continent, with Addis being chosen, mainly due to its connectivity with the region and globally.
ACC already has business interests there; it has a strategic partnership with Ethiopian Airlines, for example, and is seeking to increase the utilisation of the airline’s fleet.
Making greater use of aircraft such as Ethiopian’s Boeing 787s and Airbus A350s is possible because many of the airline’s services operate into European destinations and then sit on the airport apron until the return flight to Addis Ababa, perhaps 12 to 14 hours later.
ACC is seeking to market the availability of these aircraft to operate intra-European services on behalf of other carriers during those layovers, increasing the assets’ utilisation. Ethiopian’s long-haul fleet is young and comprised of aircraft types that are attractive to other airlines.
The group began operations in 2002 as a short and medium-term aircraft leasing specialist, quickly becoming a significant player in the ACMI sector.
Today, ACC has operations in the UK, mainland Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America and Asia Pacific. Its services range from ACMI and air charter to aircraft seat supply and refurbishment, aviation asset management and strategic advisory services.
