Avion Express: Lithuanian ACMI Charter Airline Returns Over 20 Aircraft Amid Market Strain
Why It MattersACMI providers depend on long-term customer contracts and stable lessor terms, so the loss of one large client or a peer's insolvency can force rapid fleet returns and staff cuts.
What happened
Avion Express, a Lithuanian charter airline headquartered in Vilnius with its base at Vilnius Airport, specializes mainly in ACMI leasing. Through Eyjafjoll SAS it is a subsidiary of Avia Solutions Group. In spring 2026 it became known that the airline was suffering heavily from geopolitical tensions, a changed ACMI market and the SmartLynx insolvency.
More than 20 aircraft were returned to lessors at short notice, staff were released, and several long-term customer contracts were lost, including one with Viva Aerobus. As of November 2026, Avion Express's own fleet consists of six aircraft with an average age of 18.0 years.
Avion Express Brasil, founded in 2023 and based at Viracopos Airport in Indaiatuba, operates one aircraft aged 18.2 years. Avion Express Malta was founded in 2018.
How the airline got here
The carrier began with four Saab 340 cargo and passenger aircraft and received its current name, Avion Express, in 2008. In 2010 it was taken over by the French investment company Eyjafjoll SAS, which was founded by Avion Capital Partners of Switzerland together with other investors. The new owners drew up a plan to shift operations into the ACMI segment.
In 2011 it presented its first Airbus A320, registered LY-VEX, the first Airbus registered in Lithuania, and two more A320s joined in December. A year later, two A320s were leased to Icelandic carrier WOW air. In 2013 the airline passed the IOSA Operational Safety Audit and received IATA registration, and its last Saab 340 freighter was retired in March 2013.
By summer 2014 it operated nine Airbus A320s and two A319s, including three aircraft operated for Thomas Cook Airlines and Condor.
Industry impact & what to watch
An ACMI operator earns its living by placing aircraft and crews with other airlines under contracts that run for seasons or years. The model leaves little cushion: when a major customer leaves or a peer in the same segment fails, the provider carries aircraft that no longer have work, and returning them to lessors is the fastest way to stop the cost.
The drop from more than 20 returned aircraft to a six-aircraft own fleet shows how quickly capacity can disappear from this segment. Airlines that rely on wet-leased capacity to cover peak seasons or fleet gaps face a thinner and less predictable pool of suppliers.
Whether Avion Express can rebuild its fleet depends on winning new long-term contracts, since lessors place aircraft against committed demand; new customer agreements would be the clearest sign of stabilisation.
