10.1.2.2Vertical

Cargo Air Charter Services

Companies providing on-demand cargo charter transportation.

Market snapshot

These figures describe Air Charter Services (10.1.2), the segment that Cargo Air Charter Services sits within. They are not figures for Cargo Air Charter Services on its own.

Market size
~$38B
Growth
~11.6%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
Companies
~2,177 firms
Firms by employee count

78.9% of firms have fewer than 20 employees: 1,718 micro-businesses, below most mandates.

The investable universe459 firms with 20+ employees
20–99
28261%
100–499
8318%
500+
9420%

Private and on-demand aviation kept the demand it gained when scheduled service became unreliable, which is why growth held up after the disruption ended. Fractional and membership models turned a charter business into a subscription one, and that is where the recurring revenue now sits.

NAICS 481211, 481212, 481219. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Business model & economics

Revenue model

Charter, fractional, and jet-card fees

Key economics

Revenue per firm
$17,576,693
Revenue per employee
$580,530
Employees per firm
24.3
Recurring revenue
Moderate

fractional/membership recurring

EBITDA margin
Fleet-utilization- and model-dependent
Capex intensity
High

Characteristics

  • Scale-driven: payroll is only 22% of revenue, so the cost base is assets, not headcount
  • Moderate strategic-buyer pool: 94 firms exceed 500 employees, so a scaled asset has buyers, but not many
  • Private jet charter, fractional, and jet-card programs.
  • Pandemic shift to private aviation drove the boom.
  • Structurally larger than pre-pandemic.

NAICS 481211, 481212, 481219. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Geographic concentration

AlabamaArizonaColoradoGeorgiaIndianaKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNew JerseyNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth DakotaWyomingConnecticutMissouriWest VirginiaIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaHawaiiIowaKentuckyMarylandMichiganMississippiMontanaNew HampshireNew YorkOhioOregonTennesseeUtahVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinNebraskaSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode IslandAlaskaFloridaTexas

Alaska at seventeen times the national concentration is the most extreme figure in transportation, because bush aviation is basic infrastructure there. Florida and Texas follow on corporate and offshore charter demand.

AlaskaFloridaTexas

U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses (firms by state), NAICS 481211/481212/481219. Concentration shown by location quotient.

M&A deal context

Deal activityModerate

Who’s acquiring

  • Fractional & charter majors
  • PE-backed aviation platforms
  • Operator consolidators

What’s driving deals

  • Fractional/membership-model consolidation.
  • Private-aviation demand normalization.
  • Fleet scale and reliability.

Find Cargo Air Charter Services acquisition targets

Search Acquisera’s index for companies classified under Cargo Air Charter Services (10.1.2.2) and build a targeted deal pipeline.

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