Which Type of Lease Do You Need?
ACMI Lease (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, Insurance)
The lessor supplies the aircraft together with the crew, maintenance and hull and liability insurance, and operates it under its own air operator certificate (AOC). You pay per block hour, normally with a guaranteed minimum number of hours per month, and you cover the variable costs: fuel, landing and navigation charges, ground handling and usually crew accommodation. Best for: seasonal peaks, Hajj and Umrah programmes, covering a grounded or delayed aircraft, starting a new route before committing your own fleet, and airlines that do not yet hold the right AOC for the type. Typical term: a few weeks to a few months.
Wet Lease
Often used to mean the same thing as ACMI. Some contracts include more in the package, such as cabin crew, catering or certain operating costs, so the name matters less than the cost split in the contract. We set that out line by line before you sign.
Damp Lease
A partial wet lease. Usually the lessor provides the aircraft, the flight deck crew, maintenance and insurance, and you provide the cabin crew. This suits airlines that want their own cabin service and branding on board.
Dry Lease
You lease the aircraft only and operate it on your own AOC, with your own crew and your own maintenance programme. You pay a fixed monthly rent plus maintenance reserves, and the lessor normally holds a security deposit. The aircraft is registered in your country or operated under an arrangement agreed with your aviation authority. Best for: established operators adding fleet for the medium to long term. Typical term: one to ten years; three to five is common.
Freighter Leasing
ACMI or dry lease of cargo aircraft, from regional jet and turboprop freighters to narrowbody and widebody freighters. Payload on your actual routes matters more than the brochure figure, so we check real performance and the remaining life of time limited components before a freighter is proposed.
Freighter sizes and payloads: small cargo planes, narrowbody freighters and heavy freighters.
Business Jet Leasing
ACMI and dry lease of business jets for charter operators, corporate flight departments and government users.
See our current aircraft for sale and lease listings.
ACMI, Damp and Dry Lease Compared
Who provides | ACMI / Wet | Damp | Dry |
|---|---|---|---|
Aircraft | Lessor | Lessor | Lessor |
Flight deck crew | Lessor | Lessor | You |
Cabin crew | Lessor | You | You |
Maintenance | Lessor | Lessor | You |
Insurance | Lessor | Lessor | You |
Operated on whose AOC | Lessor's | Lessor's | Yours |
Fuel, fees, handling | You | You | You |
Typical term | Weeks to months | Weeks to months | Years |
How an Aircraft Lease Works with Jetvice
-
1. Brief. Aircraft type or category, seats or payload, the routes or mission, start date, term and expected utilisation, and which type of lease you are after. If you are unsure which lease type fits, we will recommend one.
-
2. Market search. We go direct to lessors, operators and owners, including aircraft that are not publicly advertised. You get a shortlist with the aircraft specification, age, operator and indicative terms.
-
3. Due diligence. Before you commit we check the aircraft, the operator and the paperwork: maintenance status and upcoming checks, time limited parts, the lessor's AOC and approvals, insurance, who actually owns the aircraft, and whether the aircraft can legally operate into your markets.
-
4. Terms and contract. We negotiate the block hour rate or monthly rent, minimum guaranteed hours, deposits, maintenance reserves, return conditions, and the split of operating costs, so there are no surprises on the first invoice.
-
5. Delivery and approvals. We coordinate the approvals your authority requires, the delivery inspection, positioning, and the start of operations.
-
6. During the lease. We stay involved: utilisation, extensions, replacement aircraft if one goes technical, and the return process.
Why Airlines and Operators Work with Jetvice
-
Direct with lessors and operators. We deal with the party that owns or operates the aircraft, not a chain of intermediaries. Fewer layers means faster answers and a clearer price.
-
We check what others skip. Who really owns the aircraft, whether the component life supports the term you want, and whether the payload works on your routes. A lease that fails in month two is worse than no lease.
-
Structuring, not just sourcing. When the lease you want does not exist off the shelf, for example a long term dry lease into a market with strict registration rules, we work out how to structure it.
-
Type agnostic. We are not tied to any fleet, so the recommendation follows your mission.
-
Aviation background. Our team comes from flight operations and knows how an AOC, a maintenance programme and a block hour really work.
Who Our Leasing Clients Are
-
Scheduled and charter airlines covering seasonal demand, Hajj and Umrah, maintenance gaps or late deliveries with ACMI capacity.
-
Start up and expanding airlines that need aircraft on dry lease to grow, or ACMI while their own AOC or type approval is in progress.
-
Cargo airlines and forwarders adding freighter capacity on a lane without buying an aircraft.
-
Charter operators adding a type or a tail for a contract or a season.
-
Governments, humanitarian organisations and project companies needing a dedicated aircraft and crew for a mission or contract period.
-
Corporate flight departments leasing a business jet instead of buying.
Examples of the Leasing Work We Handle
-
Turboprop ACMI in East Africa. Placing a Dash 8-300 on ACMI with a regional carrier operating into South Sudan.
-
Narrowbody winter capacity for the Umrah season. Sourcing a 189 seat Boeing 737-800 and a 180 seat Airbus A320 on ACMI for winter 2026/27, where Jeddah slot planning matters as much as the aircraft.
-
Long term freighter dry lease. A five year dry lease of a Boeing 737-400 freighter for an operator in Kenya.
-
Regional jet freighter ACMI. Assessing a CRJ200 freighter in Nairobi for ACMI, where remaining engine component life set the maximum lease term.
-
Structuring a lease that did not exist. A five year King Air B200GT dry lease for a user in India, where the answer was in how the lease was structured, not in finding a ready made aircraft.
Tell Us About the Aircraft You Need
Type or category, seats or payload, routes, start date and term. We will come back with what is available and how the lease could be structured.
Aircraft Leasing FAQ
What is the difference between ACMI and a dry lease? With ACMI the lessor supplies the aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance and flies it on its own AOC; you pay per block hour. With a dry lease you get the aircraft only and operate it yourself on your own AOC, with your own crew and maintenance, paying a monthly rent.
How is an ACMI lease priced? Per block hour, with a minimum guaranteed number of hours per month. Fuel, airport and navigation charges, ground handling and usually crew accommodation are paid by the lessee on top.
How long does it take to arrange an ACMI lease? Short notice ACMI can be in place within days to a few weeks if a suitable aircraft is available and the approvals in your country are straightforward. Peak seasons such as summer and Hajj book up months ahead, so start early.
What do I need to dry lease an aircraft? Normally your own AOC with the type on it or a plan to add it, qualified crew, an approved maintenance arrangement, insurance, and the security deposit and maintenance reserves the lessor requires. Your aviation authority will also need to approve the registration or the arrangement under which the aircraft is operated.
Can you lease freighters as well as passenger aircraft? Yes. We handle freighter ACMI and dry leases as well as passenger aircraft, from turboprop and regional jet freighters to larger cargo aircraft.
Can you find aircraft that are not publicly listed? Yes. Much of the market never gets advertised. Because we deal with lessors, operators and owners directly, a large part of what we propose comes from off market sources.
Do you lease business jets? Yes, on ACMI and dry lease. See our aircraft for sale and lease page for current availability.
Which regions do you cover? Worldwide, with most of our current leasing work in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.
