Cargo charter news

March 2007

Eric Clapton: live in Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong...

According to local myth, there is a pub in Shropshire where Eric Clapton used to stroll in occasionally and ask if the band would let him join them for a few numbers. That was in the late 1970s; today, any performance by the legendary artist requires meticulous management over an extended period. To illustrate the scale of a Clapton event, his recent packed-stadium tour of the Far East involved the movement of around 25 tons of band and stage equipment between venues.

Eric had not played in Singapore since 1990 — and it was only his second Bangkok performance in 30 years — and audience expectations were high, so every aspect of the tour had to be perfectly handled. Ian Haynes, director of Rock It cargo, turned to Air Charter Service to guarantee that all of his equipment would always be in the right place at the right time. The tour entailed five performances, in five countries, within a nine-day period in January.

Justin Bowman, Air Charter Service’s worldwide commercial director, arranged an Airbus A-300 to carry the vital cargo across thousands of miles: from Bangkok to Singapore, then to Hong Kong, onwards to Shanghai and finally to Seoul. As with any such itinerary, details had to be changed along the way, but ACS always rose to the occasion.

February 2007

An aircraft inside an aircraft?

How do you get a Bombardier Learjet LR-60 from Romania to the USA? Yes, you fly it — but what do you do if it is incapable of flight? James Cristofoli, at the ACS London office, knows the answer: you put it inside another aircraft and fly it as cargo.

“It was a challenging project,” he says, “getting an executive jet that could not fly back to the manufacturer for major repairs, following an accident. The distances involved meant that surface transport was not an option for reasons of cost and time.”

The LR-60 was immobile at Baneasa, Bucharest City Airport, and needed to be returned to ICT, Wichita Falls, in Kansas — several thousand miles away. Having a $14 million aircraft out of service is expensive, which is why the customer turned to Air Charter Service. “We were the only company able to offer the customer the earliest possibility that they needed,” says James.

Arranging the necessary Antonov 124 was only part of the job, as three weeks’ detailed flight planning were needed, in alliance with a specialist salvage team. This included essential preparation work on the LR-60, such as creating a bespoke dolly for it, to reduce its height, and removing its rear horizontal stabiliser to reduce its width.

The flight ran smoothly from start to finish and the customer’s Learjet is now back in Kansas where it began life, undergoing $5 million worth of repairs.

January 2007

When disaster strikes

When an earthquake hit Trinidad, Ruan Courtney knew that the telephone would soon be ringing in Air Charter Service’s New York office. Sure enough, the quake — measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale — had knocked out power across the island and caused structural damage to buildings. The country’s only liquid natural gas plant was one of the affected sites and specialist equipment, replacement technology and spare parts were needed to bring the plant back on-line.

During the next 12 days, four emergency cargo charters were arranged: a DC10 and a DC8 from Manchester, England, and two Falcon 20 aircraft from Houston, Texas all flew equipment into Port of Spain.

The speed of response helped in restoring production quickly to the plant — a key contributor to the economy of Trinidad, a major LNG supplier to the USA.

Money, money, money

Being offered money is all in a day’s work for Ruan Courtney, of Air Charter Service’s New York office — he is used to taking calls about unusual cargo charters. The most recent request was from a Toronto-based customer, who wanted 86 tons of New Zealand two-cent and five-cent coins moved quickly.

Speed of response was essential, as production delays and impending deadlines meant that the cargo needed to be delivered more quickly than scheduled airlines could offer, although cost and service quality were also cited as major consideration.

Ruan responded rapidly with a quote that the customer liked and millions of coins were soon taking off from Winnipeg, bound for Auckland aboard a Boeing 747.

A Right Royal Fix

ACS Dubai office has recently been involved in moving hunting materials for the Sheikhs of Qatar and Abu Dhabi. It is traditionally this time of year that the royal families of these countries take hunting expeditions in the deserts of Tunisia, Niger and Morrocco.

Stuart Smith of the Dubai Office contracted two charters by Iluyshin-76 aircraft carrying personal effects, hunting equipment and food supplies for the Sheikhs.

One aircraft flew into Tozeur, Tunisia whilst the other was for Niamey, Niger.

ACS Dubai is happy to continue supporting the local traditions of the gulf countries that it serves.

Horses for Courses

ACS Dubai office helped to support the 15th Asian Games held in Doha, Qatar during December and particularly the nation of Bahrain in their attempts to win gold.

Stuart Smith contracted an Antonov-12 aircraft to fly the Bahrain equestrian team and their horses from Bahrain to Doha in time for their sporting event. The aircraft carried 8 horses and their accompanying grooms for the 1-hour flight in specially made horse transporting stalls.

The horses arrived fresh and raring to go, instead of the grueling half day journey overland that would have faced them otherwise.

Air Charter Service continues to support the carriage of live animals by charter aircraft around the world.

November 2006

Urgent charters for gas equipment

Air Charter Service’s New York team were last month requested to arrange the air transportation of technical equipment to Port of Spain (POS), Trinidad, after a strong earthquake (6.1 magnitude) hit the island and damaged a natural gas production plant.

Fortunately there were no reports of serious injuries caused by the quake. There was however damage to infrastructure, and as a major supplier of natural gas to the United States and other countries the operators of damaged production plant urgently required technical equipment and spare parts for repairs.

The team in New York arranged four urgent cargo charters into Port of Spain in the days after the earthquake. Ruan Courtney arranged a DC-10 and a DC-8 aircraft from the UK, followed by the charters of two Falcon 20 aircraft from Texas.

These successful time-critical aircraft charters allowed repairs to be made and output restored in the shortest time possible.

Outsize cargo for stricken ship

A large shipping company was spared an operational headache last month when Air Charter Service assisted a freight forwarder in organising the transportation of an urgent spare part weighing 40,000 KG from Norway to Japan.

The vessel belonging to the firm was damaged in heavy seas off the coast of Japan, resulting in the loss of the main thrusters which power the ship and allow for its manoeuvrability.

As the ship limped back to port, the freight forwarder called Air Charter Service to find a way of urgently transporting the replacement thrusters which were located in Norway.

Lloyd Robinson quickly arranged an Antonov-124 aircraft for the charter to Japan. The AN-124 was ideally suited to the outsize dimensions of the giant piece as it allowed for the careful loading to be conducted through the nose of the aircraft with the help of a crane (see picture). 

The piece was delivered on an impressive timescale, helping the engineers to get the ship back to sea in a matter of days.

October 2006

Modernised IL-76 a welcome addition to charter market

Air Charter Service’s Gary Hopkins has been the first at the company to take advantage of the all new Chapter 4 certified IL-76TD-90VD aircraft, with a charter of 40 tonnes of urgent oil equipment from Italy to Hassi Messaoud, Algeria.

It is likely to be first of many charters on this new build cargo aircraft which can freely operate across Europe and the USA as it is designed to meet International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) noise and emissions requirements.

The long running success of the IL-76 is based on its unique capabilities as well as its economic efficiency. Not requiring any additional airport loading equipment, the self-sufficient IL-76 is able to fly charters to and from airports with poor infrastructure.

The new model has a an improved MTOW of 195 tonnes, an increased payload of 50 tonnes, and a reduced fuel consumption rate making it more efficient.

September 2006

AN-124 aircraft carry bridges for Lebanon reconstruction

Three large Bailey bridges - developed during World War II – have been transported to the region via giant Antonov-124 freighter aircraft. The bridges are part of an initial £12.7m aid package arranged by the British Government’s Department For International Development (DFID).

DFID has announced it may send up to 14 bridges to Lebanon to aid in the reconstruction of key routes destroyed by bombing. In total the damage caused to infrastructure during the conflict is estimated to be in the region of £1.25 billion.

The two Antonov-124 aircraft, arranged by London based Air Charter Service, flew from RAF Brize Norton to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. The bridges were successfully unloaded and are currently in the process of being taken on a UN ship to Lebanon from the port of Limassol.

The Antonov-124, designed by the Soviet Union, is regularly used to transport heavy and outsize cargo around the world.

In addition to the bridges, on behalf of various relief agencies ACS arranged 31 relief aid charters to the region on Antonov-12 and Airbus-310 aircraft during the crisis – and the passenger department also provided MD-82 aircraft to evacuate over 600 foreign nations from Lebanon.

Air Charter Service never tyre of flying

Air Charter Service’s London office have had the pleasure of arranging Antonov-26 and Antonov-12 aircraft to transport Michelin’s Formula One racing tyres to both the Hungarian and Italian Grand Prix events.

To help keep the Hungaoring F1 event firmly on track James Cristofoli, cargo charter analyst at ACS, arranged two Antonov-26’s to move tyres from France to Budapest.

In a separate charter ACS provided an Antonov-12 aircraft to fly more tyres from Turkey to Milan for the Monza Grand Prix.

ACS work extensively in the motor sports industry, arranging both cargo charters for the various teams, and passenger flights on private jets for sponsors and fans.

Contact the cargo department for more information aircraft charters.

August 2006

Relief for civilians in Middle East crisis

Air Charter Service have played an important role in both evacuating foreign nationals and transporting aid cargo to Lebanon as the crisis in the Middle East unfolds. Large scale operations continue in order to help alleviate the suffering of civilians caught up in the conflict.

Air Charter Service’s passenger department arranged four MD-82 charters from Larnaca carrying a total of 646 Scandinavian evacuees back to their homeland. The flights were completed within 24 hours of receiving the request.

In the first three weeks of the crisis Air Charter Service’s cargo department have also been involved in flying relief aid to the region. As the aid effort got underway ACS arranged five AN-12 charters with cargo of food and essential goods into Larnaca (LCA).

With new aid routes now opening up ACS are also working on charters into other airports including Damascus (DAM) - where an ACS chartered DC-8 has delivered a consignment of relief goods from Copenhagen (CPH).

ACS sign two year contract with Save the Children (UK)

Air Charter Service have signed a new two year contract to act as the official air charter provider for Save the Children (UK). ACS will use their expertise in the relief field to help Save the Children in their work reacting to disasters across the globe.

Save the Children is the UK's leading international children's charity, working to create a better world for children. They are active in the UK, as well as around 65 countries world wide.

They are part of the International Save the Children Alliance, the world's leading child rights organisation with members in 29 countries and operational programs in over 100 more.

The account will be managed by Gary Hopkins, who has experience working with several other major aid organisations. Gary has arranged aid flights for humanitarian disasters including the Asian tsunami, the Pakistan earthquake, and most recently the unfolding crisis in Lebanon.

For more information on aid flights please contact Gary Hopkins.

July 2006

Automotive parts charters on the rise

Air Charter Service’s New York office continues to go from strength to strength, reporting a very busy few months in the charter market. This has included various movements of oil equipment from the U.S. to Africa, and most recently a boom in the number of automotive parts charters.

In one of several key deals, Chuck Hoffken secured the contracts for 16 charters for flying auto parts up and down the East Coast for a client seeing a rise in trade.

He sourced Falcon 20, Lear 25 and Embraer 140 aircraft to successfully move urgent consignments between locations to keep key manufacturing sites running on schedule.

Chuck was able to draw upon Air Charter Service’s expertise in supplying aircraft at short notice and arranging for the delivery of freight within hours. This includes light jet and turboprop aircraft for small loads, as well as larger aircraft for heavy and outsize freight.

For more information please contact Chuck Hoffken in Air Charter Service’s New York office.

June 2006

Landmine clearance vehicles for Sudan

Air Charter Service’s Richard Thompson has arranged the charter of a IL-76 loaded with landmine clearance machinery for southern Sudan where large humanitarian and regeneration programmes are currently underway.

An organisation involved in the project contacted Air Charter Service to organise the transportation of a landmine clearance vehicle, Land Rovers and trailers from the north of France to Juba, Sudan.

Richard Thompson arranged for the 30 tonne load to be flown on an IL-76 aircraft which is well suited for the transportation of vehicles and outsize machinery. The charter ran smoothly, taking 10 hours to reach its destination including a fuel stop in Libya.

The equipment will be put to immediate use clearing agricultural land littered with mines which are a major problem for the local population.

The US-based agency, Human Rights Watch estimate that there are 110 million mines are spread in 64 counties world wide. Landmines maim or kill between 1,000 to 2,000 people per month, most of whom are innocent civilians.

For more information on transporting vehicles and machinery please contact Richard Thompson

Air Charter Service move to new offices in Moscow

Air Charter Service’s Moscow office has relocated to larger new offices in the city to further facilitate the growth that the company has experienced in recent years. The new office will allow for the addition of further brokers to the team.

The new office is situated in a prestigious complex on the carriageway dubbed ‘Putin Road’ due to the fact many of Russia’s business elite and ministers use the road to travel to work each day from the west of the city.

The office is also conveniently located on the blue metro line, between Krylaskoe and Molodezhnaya stations.

For the full address and contact details visit www.aircharter.ru

May 2006

Sculpting the perfect AN-124 charter

Air Charter Service’s Vladimir Romanenko was recently delighted to provide the flight from St Petersburg to Tblisi for a statue created by the great sculptor Zurab Tsereteli. The contract for this charter was signed by Zurab himself in his gallery in the center of Moscow.

The statue was specially commissioned to be the centerpiece of 30m high monument to the “History of Georgia” in the centre of Tblisi.

The initial enquiry was placed in March, at which time the ornate statue was still in the early stages of construction. Vladimir Romanenko was able to show his own attention to detail and worked to create the perfect charter for this unusual cargo.

At 6 metres wide and 3.8 metres high the dimensions of statue and paddock meant that an AN-124 aircraft would need to be utilized for the charter.

On the day of the charter the load arriving by truck proved so wide that the old airport gates were opened for the first time in years to allow the statue through.

The delivery and loading process took less than 3 hours due to the advance preparations made. The charter was conducted without any delay and was met in Tbilisi by the sculptor himself.

The statue is due to be unveiled in Tblisi’s Freedom Square at a ceremony on the 29th May (Georgia’s Independence Day).

A Musical Fiesta

Air Charter Service began May with an urgent enquiry to transport musical instruments for the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra who had played on the Sunday evening in Madrid's Music Hall, who were then having to play in Bratislava on the Monday evening.

The considerable size and shape of the instruments, presented a logistical challenge for the forwarding company involved. Despite the limited time available and busy bank holiday, Air Charter Service were able to source an Antonov 12 aircraft for the charter.

Justin Bowman was able to contact the relevant authorities despite official offices being closed for the holiday break and received all of the flight permissions within the day.

The successful operation was completed in less than 24 hours, including trucking to airports, customs clearance and the charter flight.

To find out more on chartering an aircraft click here

April 2006

Outsize charter back on track

Air Charter Service’s Dion Xavier and Justin Bowman had a huge task on their hands last month at Brno-Turany Airport (BRQ) when faced with the task of loading a 16 tonne shipping valve onto a IL-76.

The large piece was destined for Cairo where it was going to be used on a large rig.

The operation was in danger of running later after heavy snow storms caused the closure of some Czech motorways delaying the shipper and the delivery the large piece. Furthermore it was discovered that transport stand had been left at the factory, meaning loading could now present a challenge.

However the operation was helped back on track once the freight reached the airport.

Dion Xavier had personally travelled to Brno to oversee the charter and worked together with the skilled crew to ensure the piece was safely loaded onto the aircraft in impressive time. 

Drilling equipment to Ethiopia

Air Charter Service Moscow has assisted an Italian construction company with an IL-76 charter for two heavy duty drilling vehicles for a works project in East Africa.

The equipment had been produced on the Adriatic coast and was urgently required by the construction team based out of Addis Ababa. No western aircraft was able to carry the vehicles each measuring over 3 metres in both height and width, and weighing around 16 tonnes.

Vladimir Romanenko identified the IL-76 as the most suitable for transporting the drilling equipment and immediately bore his way into getting the permissions needed to make the charter happen to schedule.

Noise restrictions eliminated the possibility of Italian departure and time was too tight to carry the cargo to Bratislava. However, Vladimir negotiated the use of Pula airport, receiving the necessary permissions from the CAA of Croatia.

The successful operation was completed in less than 24 hours, including trucking to Pula, customs clearance and the charter flight.

March 2006

Air Cargo Americas 2006

The annual Air Cargo Americas Exhibition was held from the 1st to the 3rd of March at the Sheraton Mart in Miami , and representatives from Air Charter Service's New York and London offices were present to meet and enjoy a drink with guests.

The show, originally due to be held in October, is the highlight of the year for many aviation industry companies with business interests in the North and South America. The Air Charter Service stand proved to be a popular stop off point for freight forwarders, GSA's and airlines alike, allowing them to sit in the lounge area and enjoy a drink and talk about the company.

Ruan Courtney, President of the New York office, told us he was delighted to get the opportunity to meet and really get to know other leading figures in the industry.

He added: "It is great opportunity to sit down with both clients and suppliers and discuss all their needs and ideas over a drink."

Air Charter Service continue pivotal aid flight role

Air Charter Service are a company with a long and proud history in providing humanitarian aid relief charters for disasters around the globe. The first months of 2006 have seen both the continuation of ongoing work in areas such as Pakistan (see previous news releases) as well as the addition of other aid flight projects.

Most recently Richard Thompson of Air Charter Service had been able to provide charter flights to flood hit Algeria on behalf of Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional (AECI).

Richard was able to quickly arrange two AN-12 charters to transport temporary shelter and emergency food rations to victims of the torrential which has brought devastation to large areas. The flights flew from the Madrid Torrejon military base to Tindouf Military airport in Algeria.

February 2006

Air Charter Service delighted to announce opening of new Dubai office

Air Charter Service are delighted to announce the opening of a new office in Dubai , U.A.E. The London based charter company - who already boast other centres of excellence in New York and Moscow - were granted an official trade licence by the Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (DAFZA) earlier this month.

The Dubai office location promises to further enhance Air Charter Service's global reach and was welcomed by both clients and suppliers.

Air Charter Service FZCo will be headed by Peter Sheppard - Director of Middle East Operations - who will lead a team of highly experienced charter brokers at the new office situated within the Dubai Airport Free Zone.

Group Chairman Chris Leach revealed: "Due to Air Charter Service's dramatic growth it has been a strategic plan to open a Middle East office for sometime - and we are delighted with the choice of Dubai "

He added: "We have found the authorities very professional to deal with and we have high expectations for the future"

For more information contact the Dubai office.

January 2006

ACS on top of the world

Air Charter Service literally finished 2005 on top of the world with a charter to North Greenland, in the Arctic Circle , on behalf of the Royal Danish Air force. The AN-12 of Air Charter Service's managed fleet flew from Aalborg , Denmark to Thule Air Base and Station Nord, Greenland , flying vital camp provision supplies to the Danish military in these extreme northerly climates.

Andy Holmes of the London cargo office contracted the flight for moving in excess of 20 tonnes from Denmark to Greenland - including a huge 3.5 tonne generator for Station Nord, one of the world's most northerly airstrips - only 330 miles south of the geographical North Pole.

Stuart Smith of the London Office accompanied the charter as flight manager told us: " We experienced some extreme weather conditions in Greenland . When we landed at Thule Air Base in North Greenland , the ground temperature was minus 32 degrees Celsius with a wind chill factor of minus 45.

However, the Antonov 12 is well suited to these conditions and with the aid of some engine heaters, and some very warm clothing the charter operated just fine. Besides the Ukrainian crews are well used to such temperatures".

The charter was the last source of supplies to the Danish military for a few months and will enable them to work through the arctic winter, with permanent darkness until the beginning of March and temperatures exceeding minus 50 degrees Celsius. 90% of Greenland is ice cap and in effect the country is an ice desert.

Find out more about charters to remote locations

Giant trucks fly to Tel Aviv

Air Charter Service Moscow ended 2005 with an urgent enquiry to transport two HGV trucks mounted with state of the art x-ray systems from Paris to Tel Aviv for the Israeli Ministry of Defence.

The considerable size of the trucks, measuring 4.0m in height presented a logistical challenge for the forwarding company involved. Despite the Christmas rush and Jewish holidays, Air Charter Service were able to source an Antonov 124 aircraft for the charter.

Mikhail Dereskov was able to contact the relevant authorities despite official offices being closed for the holiday break and received all of the flight permissions within the day.

The impressive offloading of the giant trucks (right) was photographed at Tel Aviv upon the completion of the charter.

Contact the Moscow office.

Something fishy going on in the charter market

The traditional Christmas turkey looked to be off the menu at Air Charter Service in the build up to the festive season as the London office netted several contracts to fly freshly caught tuna-fish across Europe .

The fish was due to fly to Japan on scheduled services but the client needed an aircraft to shuttle the catches from Sicily and Croatia to major European airports where they could be transferred onto scheduled flights.

Richard Thompson reeled in the charters, quickly trawling through the various options before setting on the AN-12 for the 15,000kg consignments. The fast response time and versatility of the AN-12 makes it an ideal choice for clients looking to make quick flights around Europe and further a field.

Air Charter Service have a lot of past experience of arranging charters of fresh fish cargo. The managed fleet AN-12 based at EMA has a custom built roller system allowing for pallets of fish to be loaded and offloaded quickly.

Contact us with your charter enquiries.

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