ABX Air, Inc.

What ABX Air, Inc. does

ABX Air, Inc. is a U.S. cargo airline founded in 1980 and headquartered at Wilmington Air Park in Wilmington, Ohio. It operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (ATSG, NASDAQ: ATSG), which is itself in the process of being acquired by private equity firm Stonepeak in an all-cash transaction pending regulatory and closing conditions as of April 2025. ABX Air operates a fleet of 33 Boeing 767 wide-body freighters (26 767-300 and 7 767-200) under FAR Part 121 certification, with 40+ years of continuous air cargo operating history and a U.S. employee base of 501-1000.

The company monetizes this fleet and operating capability through three primary commercial models. ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, Insurance) contracts lease complete operational packages to customers on long-term or short-term bases. CMI (Crew, Maintenance, Insurance) contracts supply operational services for customers' own fleets. On-demand cargo charters (reached via 1-800-FR8-FLYT) provide transactional, per-flight capacity using a subset of the fleet. A fourth ancillary stream, line maintenance support, deploys licensed maintenance personnel at multiple U.S. airports to service third-party aircraft and keep turnaround times low. Core customer segments are e-commerce and express delivery operators and other air carriers needing supplemental capacity without owning Boeing 767 assets; charter shippers and aircraft operators requiring U.S. line maintenance form secondary segments.

Technically, ABX Air's differentiation rests on a single-type Boeing 767 freighter fleet, which yields scale and maintenance commonality advantages; on proprietary pilot training infrastructure via Airborne Training Services at Wilmington (ground school, fixed-base simulator instruction, and a full-motion Level C 767 simulator); on ETOPS certification for extended overwater operations; and on the ACC Pathway Program partnership with Air Cargo Carriers, which pre-fills up to 25% of each First Officer hiring class. Revenue mechanics are subscription-style ACMI/CMI multi-year contracts supplemented by transaction-fee charter and professional-services maintenance revenue, with all pricing custom-negotiated rather than publicly disclosed.

Name

ABX Air, Inc.

Legal name

ABX Air, Inc.

Website

https://abxair.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

ABX Air is a U.S. FAR Part 121 cargo airline and ATSG subsidiary operating 33 Boeing 767 freighters, serving e-commerce and express delivery customers with ACMI/CMI contracts, on-demand charters, and line maintenance support across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Air Cargo Services

NAICS

Nonscheduled Chartered Freight Air Transportation (481212), Nonscheduled Air Transportation (4812), Other Support Activities for Air Transportation (488190)

SIC

Air Transportation, Nonscheduled (4522), Air Transportation, Scheduled (4512)

akta.pro primary industry

ACMI / Wet-Lease Cargo Operators (THABAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

ACMI / Dry-Lease Cargo Operators (TLADAAAD), Air Freight Charter Operators (THABAEAD), Air Cargo Charter Specialists (On-Demand) (TLADAAAE)

Keywords

• Air cargo services
• ACMI contracts
• CMI services
• Freight charter
• Aircraft line maintenance

Headquarters

HQ city

Wilmington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. ACMI Services: ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, Insurance) contracts providing complete aircraft and crew for cargo operations. Customers provide cargo and flight schedule; ABX provides aircraft, crew, maintenance, and liability insurance. Both long-term and short-term contract options are available.
2. CMI Services: CMI (Crew, Maintenance, Insurance) contracts providing operational support for customer's own fleet. ABX supplies crew, maintenance, and insurance to operate the customer's fleet efficiently and reliably for supply chain needs.
3. Cargo Aircraft Charters: On-demand cargo aircraft charter services using Boeing 767 freighters for domestic and international shipments. Customers pay per flight/charter for additional capacity needs.
4. Line Maintenance Support: Line maintenance services provided by licensed maintenance personnel at multiple locations throughout the United States to keep aircraft operational.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ABX Air is a FAR Part 121 cargo airline providing customized air cargo solutions using a fleet of Boeing 767 freighters (26 767-300 and 7 767-200 aircraft). The company offers long-term and short-term ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, Insurance) and CMI (Crew, Maintenance, Insurance) contracts, on-demand domestic and international cargo aircraft charters, and line maintenance support through licensed personnel stationed at multiple U.S. locations.

Product overview

ABX Air is a FAR Part 121 cargo airline offering a portfolio of flexible operating solutions using Boeing 767 freighters. The company operates under two primary service models: ACMI Services (aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance) and CMI Services (maintenance and insurance only). Additional services include Cargo Aircraft Charters for ad-hoc capacity needs and Line Maintenance Support with licensed personnel across the United States. The fleet consists of 26 Boeing 767-300 freighters and 7 Boeing 767-200 freighters, totaling 33 wide-body cargo aircraft. The company is headquartered in Wilmington, Ohio and is a subsidiary of Air Transport Services Group (ATSG).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ACMI Services
• CMI Services Provides crew, maintenance, and insurance to operate a customer's own fleet efficiently and reliably for supply chain operations, without the customer having to own the aircraft.
• Cargo Aircraft Charters On-demand cargo aircraft charter services using Boeing 767 freighters and experienced crews for additional capacity needs on domestic or international routes. Custom quotes are provided via a dedicated charter service line.
• Line Maintenance Support Line maintenance services delivered by licensed maintenance personnel stationed at multiple locations throughout the United States, providing routine aircraft maintenance and quick turnaround times for operators.
• Boeing 767-300 Freighter Wide-body cargo freighter aircraft operated by ABX Air, with 26 units in service under ACMI/CMI contracts and charter operations.
• Boeing 767-200 Freighter Wide-body cargo freighter aircraft operated by ABX Air, with 7 units in service under ACMI/CMI contracts and charter operations.

Quantifiable outcome

• E-commerce industry growing more than 10% per year, creating sustained demand for ABX Air's cargo freighter services.

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Air Cargo CarrierscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerABX Air partners with Air Cargo Carriers through the ACC Pathway Program. After completing two years as a Captain at Air Cargo Carriers, pilots become eligible to be hired by ABX Air as a Boeing 767 First Officer, bypassing the ABX Air interview process. Up to 25% of each ABX Air First Officer class can be filled by Air Cargo Carriers Captains. This partnership supports ABX Air's pilot recruitment pipeline.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cargolux Airlines International: Cargolux is a major international cargo carrier operating 747 freighters with ACMI and charter offerings serving global express and freight forwarding customers — comparable on ACMI business model though with a different fleet platform.
• Sky Lease Cargo: Sky Lease Cargo operates Boeing 747 freighter ACMI and charter services for international and U.S. customers. It competes with ABX Air for wet-lease cargo contracts though it uses a different fleet type.
• Atlas Air Worldwide: Atlas Air Worldwide is the largest U.S. ACMI cargo operator, providing Boeing 747 and 767 freighter capacity to global customers under similar wet-lease and charter structures. It is ABX Air's most direct comparable in fleet, customer base, and service offering.
• Western Global Airlines: Western Global Airlines operates 767 and MD-11 freighters and competes head-to-head with ABX Air for ACMI contracts and ad-hoc cargo charters serving U.S. and international e-commerce and express delivery customers.
• National Airlines: National Airlines operates Boeing 747 and 767 freighters offering ACMI/wet-lease and charter services — directly comparable to ABX Air on fleet mix, contract structure, and cargo customer targeting.
• 21 Air: 21 Air provides ACMI and scheduled cargo services primarily using Boeing 767 freighters, directly overlapping ABX Air's service model and customer segment in the U.S. air cargo market.

Regional players

• ASL Airlines Ireland: ASL Airlines Ireland operates a Boeing 737 and 767 freighter fleet providing ACMI and charter services to integrators and postal customers primarily across Europe. It is a comparable ACMI cargo operator but with a regional focus rather than U.S.-centric.

Broad incumbents

• FedEx Express: FedEx Express is both a customer of ACMI cargo providers and a competitor with its own massive integrated air and ground network. As a major customer of ABX Air's ACMI services, FedEx is a critical counterpart as well as a structural industry benchmark.
• Amazon Air: Amazon Air is a leading e-commerce-driven air cargo operation that relies on ACMI partners including ABX Air for much of its freighter capacity. It represents both a key customer segment and a strategic risk as Amazon continues to evaluate in-housing more capacity.
• Air Transport Services Group (ATSG): ATSG is ABX Air's publicly traded parent company and the wider group into which ABX Air's ACMI operations are consolidated. ATSG provides broader context on fleet economics, capital allocation, and segment financial performance that directly frames ABX Air's standalone position.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/abxair
• Facebookfacebook.com/abxairinc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/abx-air-inc.
• Instagraminstagram.com/abxairinc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ABX Air, Inc.