If you’ve ever boarded an aircraft painted in another airline’s colors—or one with no obvious branding at all—chances are you’ve flown with an ACMI carrier. Also known as wet leasing, ACMI has become an integral part of the aviation industry. But which airlines currently dominate this fast-growing corner of commercial aviation?
New data released by the good people over at ch-aviation, comparing actual flight hours between the second quarter of this year with the same period in 2025 shows a significant reshuffle among the world’s largest ACMI providers. And on top of the list, we find a European carrier that lately has become quite a political hot topic in its home country.
What is ACMI?
But first, a quick primer to the world of ACMI. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, ACMI stands for Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance. It’s a business practice that has risen during the past decades, offering airlines a convenient (however not always cheap) way to increase capacity during times of high demand. Under this arrangement, one airline provides the aircraft, pilots, cabin crew, maintenance, and insurance (as the acronym suggests). The customer typically will pay for fuel and airport charges, and then arrange for tickets to be sold to unbeknownst travelers.
Reasons for this at glance perhaps awkward arrangement are aplenty. Aircraft shortages, delayed deliveries, and passenger demand that vary over the year have made ACMI a solution for many airlines across the globe. Traditionally, this service has been provided by specialist operators who built their existence on providing aircraft and crews to more well known airlines at short notice or seasonal contracts. But, as the list below suggests, it’s a new world out there—and perhaps the airline ecosystem will see more traditional airlines with capacity to spare, dipping their toes into the wet leasing lake.
The world's five largest ACMI airlines
1. airBaltic
No airline has benefited more from the changing ACMI market over the past year than airBaltic (BT/BTI). The Latvian flag carrier climbed from third to first place after increasing its ACMI flying by 30.6%, reaching 19,547 flight hours in Q2 2026.
While still operating an extensive scheduled network across Europe from its home base in Riga (utilizing satellite bases operating out of neighboring Lithuania and Estonia), the airline has spent years building an ever growing ACMI business around its all-Airbus A220-300 fleet. It’s biggest client, the Lufthansa Group, acquired a 10% minority stake in the airline last year. Hence it is no surprise to find carriers like Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, and Brussels Airlines utilizing airBaltic aircraft, primarily during the summer season.
In fact, close to half of airBaltic’s 50+ strong fleet is currently involved in ACMI activities. Perhaps this is the result of the airline simply being forced to. Traditional trunk routes to Russia are no more since the latter’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Many European carriers can attest to numbers still not being as good as they were pre-Covid. And at home, airBaltic is facing intense financial scrutiny and has become a political hot topic in the public debate leading up to this fall’s Latvian parliamentary election.
On a more positive note, the numbers speak for themselves—airBaltic’s fleet of A220’s is a hit with its wet lease customers.
2. Alliance Airlines
With almost the entire top five hailing from Europe, it is refreshing to find Australia’s Alliance Airlines (QQ/UTY) making the cut.
Based in Brisbane, the carrier operates a fleet made up of Embraer E190s alongside a mix of Fokker F70 and F100 aircraft. While passengers can purchase tickets onboard Alliance branded aircraft put to work on their own route network, it primarily specializes in long-term contracts with airlines such as Virgin and Qantas, and the Australian mining industry—where fly-in, fly-out services are an essential part of daily operations.
Although the airline recorded a 17.9% decline in ACMI flight hours (16,868) compared with Q2 2025, it remains the world’s second-largest ACMI provider when measured by actual utilization. Unlike many European competitors, whose businesses to a large extent are built around supporting airlines during the hectic summer travel season, Alliance benefits from long-term airline and FIFO contracts. This essentially means that the airline can spread out their flying more evenly across the entire year.
Let’s say that if yours truly was the executive of an ACMI operator, I’d be a bit jealous of this level of attained consistency.
3. Avion Express Malta
After topping last year’s rankings, Avion Express Malta (4X/MLH) has slipped to third place following a 57.4% reduction in ACMI flight hours, to a grand total of 10,920 in a year.
Despite this at glance rather dramatic decline, the airline remains one of Europe’s largest dedicated wet-lease operators. It is part of the Avia Solutions Group, a giant in this corner of the aviation universe who operates more than 130 aircraft, spread out across a whopping ten different AOC (Air Operator Certificates) operating on all continents—barred Antarctica. Avion Express Malta operates a large Airbus A320-family fleet for airlines that primarily are found across Europe and the Middle East.
Avion Express Malta has become synonymous with seasonal capacity. While this year’s utilization is considerably lower, that likely reflects changing customer demand and contract timing rather than a reduction in the airline’s capabilities. With one of the largest dedicated ACMI fleets in Europe, Avion Express Malta remains a major force in the market. Lets regroup in a year and see if they will manage to climb back up to the very top of this list.
4. Helvetic Airways
Originally launched as Switzerland’s first low-cost carrier in 2003, Helvetic Airways (2L/OAW) today primarily focuses on their ACMI offering, while continuing to run a limited network of flights under their own brand name.
Operating a fleet of Embraer E190 and E195 aircraft—including the latest E195-E2—Helvetic has developed a close partnership with Swiss, operating a significant number of flights on behalf of the Lufthansa Group airline. The carrier’s choice to fly the Brazilian Beauty (being type rated on the model, the author naturally is highly biased) allows customers to deploy capacity on thinner routes without sacrificing frequency, very important in an industry where margins constantly are tight.
Unlike many ACMI specialists that serve numerous customers each season, Helvetic’s business is instead built around long-term operational partnerships. That strategy has provided a stable foundation while allowing the airline to run their own commercial routes, primarily to sun-seeker hotspots around the Mediterranean.
Helvetic grew their ACMI flight hours by a healthy 3,3% to 10,561 in the measured year.
5. Wamos Air
Rounding out the top five is Spain’s Wamos Air (EB/PLM), who bring some wide body flair to the list.
The airline primarily operates Airbus A330 aircraft, providing long-haul capacity for airlines needing additional aircraft during peak travel periods, fleet shortages, or simply unexpected disruptions. While narrowbody ACMI dominates the global markets, Wamos occupies a valuable niche where replacing a long-haul aircraft at short notice can be particularly challenging.
Its customers include everything from your traditional scheduled airlines and tour operators, to governments requiring large-capacity aircraft for repatriation or charter missions. As international travel continues to recover and long-haul fleets remain under pressure from delayed aircraft deliveries and maintenance requirements, demand for experienced widebody ACMI providers such as Wamos Air is likely to remain strong.
During the measured period, Wamos logged 10,249 flight hours according to ch-aviation data.
A European affair
It is striking to see that the list above almost exclusively is a European affair. Even zooming out, ch-aviation lists a total of fifteen ACMI providers, with only two not being headquartered somewhere in Europe. Just shy of the top ten, we find Atlas Air of the United States—who impressively boosted their ACMI flight hours by close to 50% during the measured period.
Perhaps the Euro-heavy result reflects regulatory benefits of operating under European AOCs. Maybe it is a matter of self-fulfilling tradition. No matter the reason, the dynamic world of ACMI is here to stay—and if you already haven’t travelled with one of them, chances are you will at some point in the future.
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