Saxon Air claims crown as UK’s largest onshore charter operator
Saxon Air's latest fleet addition is a new AW109SP registered G-ISPM.
Saxon Air is claiming the crown as the UK’s largest onshore charter operator after adding five new managed helicopters to its fleet since December 2025. The latest additions take the total rotary fleet to 12 aircraft – with three more helicopters due to join the AOC by April this year.
The newest addition to Saxon Air’s management is a new AgustaWestland AW109SP (G-ISPM). This reflects the company’s continued commitment to operating modern, twin-engine VIP aircraft, said the operator. “With a diversifying fleet that now includes the Leonardo AW109S, AW109 Trekker, AW109SP, AW119Kx and Airbus H125, Saxon Air has established one of the newest and most versatile rotary portfolios in the UK market,” it added.
Saxon Air attributed its growth to building long-term relationships, operational credibility and a reputation for delivering discreet and efficient solutions. “This sudden growth has spawned out of building relationships, which takes time and doesn’t happen overnight. We changed our outreach and business development strategy to get ‘out there’ more, networking within the industry and making connections outside of it,” Miles Riches, head of Rotary Sales at Saxon Air Helicopters told our sister title Corporate Jet Investor.
“Our rotary business is in the middle of a major phase of growth, with the fleet set to double from seven aircraft at the start of 2025 to 14 by March 2026,” he said. “This is positioning Saxon Air as one of Europe’s largest onshore charter helicopter operators. The recent introduction of the AW109S, alongside brand new AW109SPs and Trekkers, further strengthens what will be the newest and most diverse fleet in the UK.”
Riches also highlighted changes in the UK rotary onshore charter market upon, which Saxon Air has become well-positioned to exploit. There has been a trend of UK operators moving away from managed aircraft to fleet ownership. “In doing so, they are no longer interested in the management side, whereas we are,” he said.
“There’s also been a switch from single-crew operations to purely multi-crew operations,” he continued. “We’re kind of covering both sides of that, where some operators are sticking to multi-crew only, which again is making some owners choose to leave and look for other options. These things are always very cyclical, and we’ve been fortunate enough that with the current changes going on in the market, we are in that position this time around.”
As both a rotary and fixed-wing AOC holder, Saxon Air offers aircraft owners access to both helicopter and jet charter markets through in-house teams.
In addition to charter, Saxon Air offers: aircraft sales and acquisitions, management and consultation, training support, CAMO and technical oversight and advisory services on future air mobility and sustainable aviation strategy.
The company maintains helicopter bases and crew across Denham, Buckinghamshire, Elstree, Hertfordshire, Oxford, Redhill, Surrey and Norwich, Norfolk. This enables flexible basing within 10 minutes flight time of London, the focal point of the UK charter market, it claims.
