Following Friday evening’s World Cup draw, leading aircraft charter specialist, Air Charter Service, is gearing up for one of the most complex tournaments ever, in terms of logistics. With more teams, more stadiums, across more countries and times zones than any previous World Cup the company is expecting a lot of people to turn to aircraft charters.

Alex Sadat-Shafai, ACS Group Commercial Director, and who was in Washington DC for the draw on Friday, commented: “With the tournament expanded from 32 to 48 teams, this will be the biggest World Cup ever, and the matches are in 16 stadiums, spread across four time zones, some more than 3,400 miles (5,500 km) apart. The largest single distance between stadiums is Vancouver to Miami, but that won’t happen in the group stages. There are several more stadium pairings that exceed 2,000 miles (3,200 km), making it a logistical nightmare, not just for the teams, but also the fans.

“The sheer distance between some of the stadiums will mean that flying will be a necessity, and due to the lack of direct scheduled flights, charters will be essential. Some groups are kinder to the teams in them than others. Algeria and their fans, in Group J, have the longest distance to travel in the group stages – after their first game at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco they travel to Kansas’s Arrowhead Stadium, before heading back to San Francisco, racking up a total of 3,685 miles (5,930 km).

“When it comes to England’s group, they play Croatia at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, just outside Dallas, before travelling more than 1,800 miles (2,900 km) to the Gillette Stadium in Boston, to face Ghana. Based on current airlines’ schedules, there simply won’t be enough direct flights for fans to travel between the two cities in time.

“It is quite the turnaround from the tournament in Qatar three years ago, which was the least spread out of any previous World Cup with only 34 miles (55 km) separating the two stadiums furthest apart. Before that the competitions in Brazil and Russia were both very spread out, with some of the stadiums almost 2,000 miles from one another. This meant a lot of charters were needed, and for the 2018 tournament we arranged more than 350 flights.

“With more teams, more matches and greater distances, who knows how many charters this tournament will bring. We have already have several flights booked, and have been working with a number of clients, who are turning to ACS due to our unique position; as the only company in our industry with offices in all three countries and with presence in eight of the 16 host cities.”

aircharterservice.com

~ENDS~

About Air Charter Service

Air Charter Service is a global aircraft charter broker with 40 offices worldwide, spanning all six major continents and we offer private jet, commercial airliner and cargo aircraft charters, as well as onboard courier solutions. We arrange over 30,000 flights annually with revenue of more than one billion dollars for the past four years. We were formed in 1990 by Chris and Tina Leach in the basement of their house, and we now employ almost 700 staff worldwide.

Paul Cremer

My name is Paul Cremer, and this marks my 42nd year working within the business and general aviation industry. Over this time, I’ve had the privilege of overseeing a diverse array of sector activities, ranging from aircraft charter and management to air ambulance services, ground operations, air traffic control, airport management, technology implementation, and the outsourcing services I currently manage.

In my role focused on delivering advisory, technology, and outsourcing services to aviation customers, I handle a wide spectrum of responsibilities. This includes overseeing International Trip Support, Operations Control Centre Services (OCC), Continuing Airworthiness Management Service (CAMO), Airworthiness Reviews, ARC Services, Aircraft Delivery and Re-delivery Support Services, Maintenance Coordination Services including AOG, Tech Ops (Maintenance Control Centre), and managing myairops software products. As the Head of Aviation Delivery, I lead the customer-facing delivery of Technology & Outsourcing products and services for the market, drawing upon a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and industry connections within Gama Aviation’s Technology and Outsourcing Strategic Business Unit.

My journey into Business and General Aviation began during my teenage years while still in school. I was fortunate enough to be welcomed into the industry, starting at a flying club, and later working at the Air Traffic Services Unit at Blackbushe Airport. There, I maintained the ATC Movement Logs in the Control Tower during weekends, solidifying my passion for aviation. Upon completing my schooling, I seized opportunities at Fairoaks Airport, where I began as Ground Crew while pursuing my Aerodrome Flight Information Service Officer’s license. Advancements in my career led me to the role of Air Traffic Services Manager.

Since joining Gama Aviation in 1996, I’ve held various positions, including Operations Manager (Post Holder), Operations & Commercial Manager, Commercial Manager, Operations Delivery Manager, Head of Business Aviation Delivery, and currently, Head of Aviation Delivery. This role encompasses Gama Aviation Group’s Gama Aviation, myairops, and FlyerTech companies.

In 2023, I was honoured to be invited to serve as the Chair of the Operations Working Group for the British Business & General Aviation Association. This opportunity allows me to contribute to industry initiatives within BBGA’s membership of nearly 200 industry companies, focusing on challenges such as regulatory compliance, Air Services Agreements, technological advancements, workforce development, operational matters, and sustainability.

Marc Bailey

Marc Bailey has spent his career in aviation and has worked in most areas of our industry with scheduled airlines, MRO’s, military contract support and latterly with associations, government, and its agencies.

Marc currently represents your position in Europe (even post Brexit) – as President of ECOGAS (European Council of General Aviation Support) which maintains a voice with EASA. All the major member states are represented on the ECOGAS board. With EASA restructuring its meetings with industry, ECOGAS is now well positioned to represent our position in all areas following industry partnerships with the European Continued Airworthiness Group and with the Association for Remotely Piloted Aviation Services (ARPAS). 

Marc is chair of the UKASF (United Kingdom Airworthiness Strategic Forum) as part of an initiative to develop Aviation Services across all aviation activities.  The UKASF pulls together airlines, MROs, Rotary, Drones, and commercial GA bodies to work with CAA and DfT. The objective is for industry to take the lead to drive strategic issues to benefit all parties. We are well positioned after six years to continue our good work for industry. With the re-established role of Chief Surveyor in the CAA we have a good focal point to undertake this work with the regulator including regular discussions and a full industry day with the CAA each year.

Marc chairs the CAA Finance and Services Forum, which allows industry in the UK to discuss the financial plans for the CAA and look closely at the services being delivered to industry. This is a new and valuable new platform for all parties.

Marc has formed an alliance with, ARPAS, AOPA, BHA and BBGA so that we can strengthen our voice under a joint ‘GA 4 Biz’ banner. This alliance is working to do everything possible to represent the industry’s business interests with UK government and to help realise the Government’s desire to make UK General Aviation a Global Leader in a post Brexit environment. 

The next Generation initiatives with industry and government have continued to develop with the retention platform now evolving into the “Aviation Skills Recruitment Platform” .  The platform now not only offers a vehicle for those offering and seeking posts in aviation, it also provides pathways with its TalentView portion seeking to provide pathways for new entrants into our sector. 

The recruitment platform is being further developed to include training opportunities across a wide range of providers, from government agencies through academic bodies. Getting our next generation activities right in the UK over the next couple of years is our single most important issue which we in aviation must grab with both hands. Moving into 2026 we are seeking to further develop the pathways to enter aviation, and this effort is being supported with development of multimedia platforms with the organisation Metaverse. This multimedia approach is being developed so that it is more relatable to the next generation of people wishing to join aviation in a myriad of roles.

In the role of President (honorary) Marc can support the BBGA in many aspects and continue to ensure that we retain the right connections across industry, with regulators in the UK, regulators in the EU and wherever possible help hold government and its departments to account using normal channels, and where necessary utilise All Party-Political Groups for aviation.

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James Carroll

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Jason Hayward

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Sarah Towerzey

Heather Gordon

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