About us

Founded in 2005 by two Royal Air Force pilots, 2Excel has grown from five people and four aerobatic aircraft to over 400 people and a fleet of 30. In 2018, 2Excel Aviation became 51 per cent employee owned through the creation of an Employee Ownership Trust.

With an annual turnover of more than £45m, the rapid growth of the company’s business lines and capabilities has enabled 2Excel to become an emerging force in the market, successfully bidding for and winning contracts against much larger competitors.

With bases at Sywell Aerodrome, Stansted Airport, Doncaster Sheffield Airport and Lasham Airfield, 2Excel’s customers include Government Departments, the defence and oil industries, airlines and airline brokers.

Key Figures

Vision & Strategy

To be a high-performance aerospace services group that specialises in doing difficult things well.

To excel in aerospace services delivery in Britain and beyond to build value for all our stakeholders.

To get ideas airborne and turn concepts into capabilities really fast

To disrupt established markets with new and innovative solutions, build new markets from first principles and deliver cutting-edge, value-for-money aerospace services from design and certification through contract-air to data exploitation

Environmental information

We are aware of our environmental impact as a business and have made the following commitments to support environmental protection and improvement. Under our Sustainability Policy, our Sustainability Action Plan (SAP) outlines how our commitments will be delivered. One of the 2 pillars of our SAP is our Environmental Policy.

View our Environmental Policy

Carbon Reduction Plan

We commit to delivering NetZero Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 through the socially and environmentally conscious delivery of our Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP).

View our Carbon Reduction Plan

Timeline

2005

RAF pilots Andy Offer and Chris Norton launch 2Excel

2006

The Blades Formation Aerobatic Display Team is formed, becoming the world’s only ‘aerobatic airline’

2008

2Excel develops a surveillance-drone and air-land integration service for the British Army

2009

Development test and evaluation flying is introduced

2010

Air charter operator 2Excel Broadsword is launched

2013

The Boeing 727 aerial dispersant business unit is created

2015

2Excel secures a £14m loan to fund growth
2Excel takes over the aircraft maintenance company ATC Lasham and establishes 2Excel Engineering

2016

2Excel Aviation is granted a Type A Operating Licence
2Excel Engineering gains an Approval for Boeing 757 series aircraft

2017

The Blades win the inaugural World Formation Aerobatic Championships and The Blades Race Team is formed

2018

The Employees Ownership Trust for 2Excel Aviation is established
2Excel Broadsword’s Boeing 737 charter operations begin
2Excel Engineering gains an Approval for Airbus A320 series aircraft, doubles productivity and becomes profitable

2019

2Excel is contracted by Leonardo to provide a Flight Test Aircraft to the Royal Air Force’s Team Tempest future jet fighter programme
In November, 2Excel launches a bespoke five-year surveillance service and aircraft concept for the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to support a variety of ocean-based requirements, including search and rescue

2021

2Excel teams up with JD2E team to land three-year contract to train airborne Intelligence Surveillance
Reconnaissance Operators for the UK Ministry of Defence

2022

2Excel is retained as chosen delivery partner to operate oil spill spotter aircraft on behalf of Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) for for another three years, with an optional extension of up to two years, to commence on 1 January 2023
2Excel welcomed by RAF Charitable Trust as a Royal International Air Tattoo partner
2Excel, as part of a consortium with Bristow Helicopters Ltd and Nova Systems, awarded Second Generation Search and Rescue contract by Maritime and Coastguard Agency