Private Wings

What Private Wings does

Private Wings Flugcharter GmbH is an owner-managed German regional charter airline founded in 1991 at Berlin Tempelhof by Peter Gatz and headquartered in Germany. It operates a fleet of 9 Dornier 328-100 turboprops (32 seats each) and 1 Beech 1900D (18 seats) — the largest Dornier 328-100 fleet in commercial service worldwide — and holds an EU Air Operator's Certificate together with EASA Part-145 maintenance and CAMO approvals at its Ingolstadt-Manching base.

The airline generates revenue primarily through corporate shuttle services, anchored since 2000 by a long-term relationship with the Volkswagen Group covering Audi, Volkswagen, Škoda, and Porsche operations across multiple German sites. Secondary revenue streams include sports team transport (Bundesliga and lower-division clubs such as Hertha BSC, 1. FC Köln, and SpVgg Unterhaching), event and entertainment charter, ACMI wet- and dry-lease capacity for other operators, and aircraft management consulting for third-party owners. The 33-seat Dornier 328 platform is used as a competitive wedge to access regional and short-runway airfields that larger regional jets cannot serve, while the in-house Part-145/CAMO facility insources heavy maintenance and continuing airworthiness management to control cost and turnaround times.

The business is privately held and self-funded, with 51-100 employees. Strategic posture over the past five years has emphasised fleet renewal (launch-customer position on the Dornier 328eco programme in 2019), operational resilience (COVID Personal Protection Windows fitted in August 2020), geographic broadening (Beech 1900D base in Prague), and organisational build-out (management team expansion in February 2023). The combination of a regulated tri-certification stack, a 34-year operating history, and embedded corporate relationships constitutes the core of the company's competitive position.

Name

Private Wings

Legal name

Private Wings Flugcharter GmbH

Website

https://private-wings.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Private Wings is an owner-managed German regional charter airline operating the world's largest Dornier 328-100 fleet (9 aircraft) plus a Beech 1900D, providing corporate shuttle, sports team, event, and ACMI wet-lease services primarily to the Volkswagen Group, Bundesliga clubs, and event organisers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charter Airline Services

NAICS

Nonscheduled Chartered Passenger Air Transportation (481211), Nonscheduled Air Transportation (48121), Other Support Activities for Air Transportation (48819)

SIC

Air Transportation, Nonscheduled (4522)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate & VIP Group Charter Operators (THABADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Aircraft Management & Part 135/135-equivalent Operators (THABAFAD), Emergency, Evacuation & Repatriation Charter Operators (THABADAH)

Keywords

• Aircraft charter services
• Corporate shuttle flights
• ACMI wet lease
• Regional turboprop operations
• Event charter flights

Headquarters

HQ city

Schönefeld

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Corporate Shuttle/Charter Flights: Charter flights for industry clients (Volkswagen Group factory connections), sports teams (football clubs, athletes), and event clients (MICE, VIPs). Revenue generated per flight based on distance, aircraft type, and service level.
2. ACMI (Wet-Lease) Services: Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance services provided to other airlines. Wet and dry leasing to bridge capacity bottlenecks, delayed deliveries, AOG situations, and maintenance extensions.
3. Aircraft Management Consulting: Consulting services for aviation interested parties in the area of aircraft management, leveraging more than 30 years of company history.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Private Wings operates a fleet of nine Dornier 328-100 and one Beech 1900D turboprop aircraft providing charter flight services to corporate clients (factory/employee shuttles), sports teams, event and VIP charters, and ACMI (wet/dry lease) capacity to other airlines. The company also offers aircraft management consulting and inflight catering. Operations are anchored by an in-house Part-145 maintenance facility and CAMO at Ingolstadt-Manching.

Product overview

Private Wings is an owner-managed regional business airline operating a fleet of turboprop aircraft for charter services. The core offerings include Corporate Shuttle (factory employee transport), Event Charter, Sport Transport, and ACMI (aircraft leasing with crew and maintenance). The fleet consists of nine Dornier 328-100 aircraft (32 seats each, the world's largest fleet of this type) and one Beech 1900D (18 seats). Additional services include inflight catering and aircraft management consulting. The company serves industrial customers (primarily Volkswagen Group), sports teams, and event organizers across Germany.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Corporate Shuttle (Werksshuttle) Factory shuttle service transporting employees between production sites with individually tailored departure times. Serves Volkswagen Group locations including Audi, Volkswagen, Skoda, and Porsche for over 20 years.
• Event Charter Exclusive charter flight services for MICE events, incentive trips, press events, trade fairs, product launches, government delegations, automobile launches, and film and music industry transport.
• Sport Transport Reliable flight solutions for sports teams and athletes, providing flexible transport to competitions with focus on regional airports for shorter journey times and discreet service.
• ACMI (Wet/Dry Lease) Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance services offering wet and dry leasing to other airlines to bridge capacity bottlenecks, delayed aircraft deliveries, AOG situations, and maintenance extensions.
• Aircraft Management Consulting Advisory services for aviation interested parties in the area of aircraft management, leveraging over 30 years of company history and CAMO expertise.
• Inflight Catering Culinary refreshment options ranging from snacks and sandwiches to VIP catering, with vegan, gluten-free options and menus for allergy sufferers and religious dietary requirements.

Quantifiable outcome

• Regional airports enable direct access reducing total travel time significantly compared to using major hub airports
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• NetJets Europe: European fractional ownership and charter arm of NetJets serving corporate flight departments. Comparable enterprise customer base and charter product, though at much larger scale and jet-focused.
• VistaJet: Global private aviation operator offering point-to-point business jet charter and membership programs. Overlaps with Private Wings' corporate/VIP charter use cases but operates in the heavy business jet segment, not regional turboprops.

Direct peers

• Air Hamburg: Hamburg-headquartered private charter and aircraft management operator serving corporate, sports and VIP clients across Europe. Comparable German charter/management focus and customer mix (corporate + events + sports).
• ASL Airlines: European ACMI and charter group operating Boeing 737 and regional aircraft on behalf of other airlines and integrators. Directly comparable ACMI/leasing customer base and wet-lease service line.
• Air Alsie: Danish charter operator providing corporate, sports and event charter flights across Northern Europe. Comparable regional charter airline serving corporate shuttle, sports teams and VIP clients.
• FAI rent-a-jet: Germany-based business aviation and ACMI operator with a comparable charter, air ambulance and wet-lease offering across a similar turboprop and mid-size jet fleet. Closest like-for-like competitor in the DACH charter market.
• Luxaviation: Luxembourg-headquartered business aviation group offering charter, aircraft management and FBO services across Europe. Comparable private aviation charter and aircraft management positioning.
• DC Aviation: German business aviation operator providing charter, aircraft management and MRO services from Stuttgart and other European bases. Comparable charter-plus-aircraft-management-plus-MRO vertical integration to Private Wings.
• SmartLynx Airlines: Latvia-based ACMI specialist operating Airbus A320 family aircraft on wet-lease to European carriers. Comparable pure-play ACMI/wet-lease business model though at larger scale and different airframe.
• WDL Aviation: German charter and wet-lease specialist operating regional airliners on behalf of other carriers and corporate clients. Highly comparable ACMI/wet-lease business model to Private Wings' ACMI stream.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/6628574613867798
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/private-wings-flugcharter-gmbh

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Private Wings