Cargo charter news

December 2005

DC-3 in Bahamas charter

A client looking to transport heavy marble for an urgent ship refurbishment called Air Charter Service Inc. to arrange a charter in the Bahamas after scheduled services twice left the cargo sitting on the ramp due to lack of space.

The marble sitting in Nassau , Bahamas , was needed for the urgent refurbishment of a large ship waiting to set sail from Freeport . With time running out the client contacted Air Charter Service Inc. who promptly sourced a DC-3 to conduct the flight.

The DC-3, once considered the backbone of North American aviation and famed for its incredible durability and longevity, proved perfect for this charter delivering the consignment of marble in good time.

Contact the cargo team with your charter enquiries.

November 2005

Relief aid for earthquake survivors

Governments, international bodies and NGO's from around the globe have been calling upon Air Charter Service to arrange aid flights to northern Pakistan . Whilst the search and rescue work continues the focus has now largely shifted to aiding the millions of survivors left without basic shelter, medicine, food and clean water.

Air Charter Service's numerous aid flights to Islamabad and Peshawar have included a B747 packed with tents and blankets from East Midlands, IL-76's carrying food and medical supplies from Brussels and Vatry, and several other IL-76 relief flights from the Middle East .

Added to this, Paul Bennett of the London office chartered an AN-124 from Malaysia to Islamabad carrying two MI-8 helicopters which will be deployed in the disaster region for at least two months.

The MI-8's are vitally important to the aid effort as much of the mountainous Kashmir region where landslides have left many towns and villages cut off by road and dependent upon air supplies.

Chris Leach, the Chairman of Air Charter Service, has personal experience of many relief aid programmes over the last twenty years, and informs us that earthquakes are generally considered the most time critical.

With lives dependent on the speed of response, as they are with the tragic events in Pakistan , Chris feels there is rightly an enormous amount of pressure on the company to do everything possible.

He added: "I am confident that our team have the expertise and commitment to get the job done, and we will later be able to look back at contribution with pride."

More on relief aid charters.

October 2005

Outsize piece eased onto AN-12

The urgent air charter of a giant ship winch from Brussels (BRU) to Las Palmas (LPA) presented a tough challenge for Air Charter Service and the experienced crew of their managed fleet AN-12.

The winch, with dimensions of 305 x 220 x 249cm, and a weight of 11,588kg, had been flown in from the USA and required a quick onward journey to Gran Canaria where the ship was moored waiting.

Faced with the task of moving the outsize piece, Andy Holmes of Air Charter Service was able to utilise a unique roller system, custom built specifically for their ER-AXY aircraft. The roller system allowed for the winch to be eased onto the aircraft in a controlled fashion.

To ensure a swift operation the crew of the AN-12 were preparing for the loading and off-loading of the piece over 24 hours in advance of the flight.

The size of the piece dictated that it would need to be situated at the rear of the hold. To counter the weight of the winch the crew installed ballasts, in the form of three giant containers, each holding a ton a water.

Andy told us that in the actual event the loading, offloading, and flight all went without a hitch.

He added: "When it came to the real thing the practice had all paid off, the roller system worked great and the winch was loaded and unloaded on the first attempts."

Find our more about outsize cargo charters.

Humanitarian flights to Africa

Rated by the UN as one of the world's poorest nations, Niger remains in the midst of a famine crisis which is affecting an estimated 3.6 million of the countries 12.9 million population.

Air Charter Service is continuing to work with various Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in transporting vital supplies to the region.

In the latest of these charters, Ben Dinsdale of Air Charter Service sourced a DC-10 aircraft from Johannesburg (JHIA) up to Niamey in Niger on behalf of the Belgian Medicines Sans Frontiers organization. The cargo was an important consignment of therapeutic medicines to help alleviate the suffering.

On a similar note, Ben also sourced an Antonov-124 for a mission from Ostend (OST) in Belgium down to Guinea , where civil war and poor harvests have left the country in growing risk of famine.

Contact one of our experts on humanitarian charters.

September 2005

New Orleans and Gulf Coast disaster

Massive relief efforts are currently underway to alleviate the chaos and suffering caused by Hurricane Katrina. Authorities fear that in New Orleans alone thousands may be dead – and now there is a race against time to get relief to survivors.

Conditions in the worst struck areas are like nothing seen in the US before, and the government has declared a state of emergency. Thousands have been left stranded without food, water, basic shelter or health supplies.

With emergency services and the military stretched to breaking point US aid agencies have launched massive campaigns to help supply essential goods to the victims.

Air Charter Service Inc. was among the first to charter flights into the region. The New York office arranged a DC-9 to fly 16,000 lbs of bottled water and food supplies to Mobile, Alabama.

Within 24hrs the cargo was on the ground and on its way to Harrison County, Louisiana, which was among the hardest hit areas of all.

Contact Air Charter Service for urgent cargo relief aid and passenger charters.

Vital charters in battle against coal mine fire

Air Charter Service’s specialist cargo team sprung in to action when they organised a series of urgent charters to help battle an inferno in a Norwegian coal mine.

Richard Thompson, assisted by James Cristofoli, organised 13 flights carrying fire-fighting chemicals to the site of the blaze in Longyearbyen, on a remote island in the Arctic Archipelago. At its peak the flames had consumed almost a kilometre of space within the mine, and it is expected to take weeks before the fire is fully extinguished.

A fleet, comprising of an AN-12, a Metro, and four AN-26 aircraft, was used to shuttle the chemicals and mine equipment from Düsseldorf, Germany, and Tromso in Norway.

Airport staff at Tromso confirmed the operation was the largest they had ever dealt with.

Contact our cargo specialists for more information on urgent charters.

Reconnaissance aircraft in North Atlantic search

Charter Executive Dan Morgan-Evans this month responded to an unusual request for a reconnaissance aircraft.

Dan was contacted after valuable piece of seismic survey equipment had become detached from a vessel in the North Atlantic and an aircraft was required to help scan the area.

Dan sourced a fully equipped survey aircraft – complete with radar and video imaging to help locate the missing equipment.

The aircrew was able to communicate with the ship’s crew via marine band radio, and together they spent four hours surveying the coordinates in a combined effort to recover the piece.

Find out about chartering an aircraft for your requirements.

Urgent charter helps oil company

This month the New York team was able to help an oil production company based near St Johns, Canada, who discovered a faulty valve that could completely shut down operations.

Vital tools required to repair the equipment were located in Houston, Texas, so a swift operation was required. A late-night call was made to ACS to find an aircraft suitable for the mission.

The team immediately sourced a Lear 24 ideally placed to carry out the flight with no delay. The charter was successfully completed despite atrocious weather conditions in the St Johns area and the oil company was able to fix the fault and resume normal production.

Contact the cargo team with your urgent requests.

August 2005

Aid relief for Niger famine victims

Air Charter Service have flown over 150 tonnes of humanitarian aid into the heart of famine hit Niger. The African country appears to be on the verge of a major humanitarian disaster with an estimated 3.5 million people at risk from drastic food shortages.

The problems are largely caused by droughts and locusts destroying crops, but have been compounded by poor governance in the country. Struggling aid agencies have also criticised the international community for their slow reaction in responding to the pending disaster.

With the early stages of a relief effort now underway, Justin Bowman of the London office was asked to arrange for the transportation of over 150 tonnes of high energy biscuits and powdered milk to Niger.

He chartered a DC-10 and a B747 to fly the urgent relief consignment from Vatry (XCR) in France, to Niamey (NIM), Niger.

Justin - who heads a team experienced in arranging relief charters – was pleased to organise these important flights but is aware that the aid effort is likely to increase.

He added: “Given the ongoing nature of the crisis we are already making full preparations for the event that our expertise are called upon again.”

For more information on aid relief charters please contact our cargo department.

Oil pumps to Damman

This month the New York office successfully organised the transportation of large oil pumps from Los Angeles (LAX) to Damman (DMM), Saudi Arabia.

The cargo department at Air Charter Service Inc. worked on the project for a month to ensure that as soon as the pieces were ready the charter would already be set up.

Due to the large dimensions of the cargo, the Antonov-124 was identified as the aircraft for the job.

The team were able to draw upon their long experience of working with time sensitive industries - such as oil and gas - arranging the loading and slot coordination so that the flights to Saudi Arabia could run quickly and smoothly.

Find out more about chartering an AN-124 about chartering an AN-124.

June 2005

That’s show business

Air Charter Service were once again on hand to ensure the show could go on after being commissioned to transport the set and stage equipment of hit show Chicago from London Gatwick to Athens.

London based charter executive Andy Holmes made the most of his moment in the spotlight as he worked closely with Graham Bebby of Rock-It Cargo to identify the most cost-effective option – trucking the cargo from Belfast to Gatwick to make significant savings on the charter.

An A300 freighter aircraft was used for the flight to Greece, with a 20-pallet configuration that allowed the 27-ton consignment to be carried in a single load.
For more information contact one of our Cargo Charter Executives.

Military jeeps to Kosovo

A large reception, including the President of Kosovo and General of the Italian Airforce, greeted the delivery of four Hummer army jeeps to Italian peacekeeping troops in Kosovo recently.

The Moscow office successfully organised two rotation flights from Frankfurt to a military base in the Balkan state using an Antonov 12 aircraft – ideal for the transportation of such loads.

After the second rotation the AN12 crew departed Kosovo carrying a Chevrolet jeep, which is to be taken out of service, back to Germany.

Find out more about chartering an An12.

IACC 2005 at Houston

Air Charter Service has underlined its reputation in the global market after a successful exhibition at the International Air Cargo Conference.

The annual event, which was held last month at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, offers a range of cargo industry companies a great chance to meet up and talk business.

Ruan Courtney, President of the New York office, and his team - including charter consultant Jerry Hyatt - took the opportunity to discuss our unique services with numerous freight forwarders, sales agents and airlines.

Ruan was delighted with the response and said, ‘the conference was one of the high spots of the quarter. Substantial interest was shown in Air Charter Service and we enjoyed being able to build further on our reputation in America.”

Find out more about our services in the USA by contacting Ruan Courtney.

May 2005

Managed fleet operations move to NEMA

After many years based at Ostend airport, Belgium, Air Charter Service were this month delighted to announce their move to a new operations facility at Nottingham East Midlands airport (NEMA) in the UK where our managed fleet of An26’s, An12’s and the recently acquired An74 will now be based.

The benefits are numerous: The costs incurred operating the fleet from NEMA are less than Ostend and the crews get a faster response to handling. Plus, the central England location means the new office is only two hours from the London headquarters.

Alan Russell, who has a wealth of experience working for cargo airlines for over 30 years, joins Air Charter Service as Operations Manager. Lloyd Robinson and Rachael Desmond Drew who were based in Ostend have moved back to the UK to complete the team.

Please contact Alan and his team for further information.

Hi-tech cargo to help Haiti

Air Charter Service has once again played its part in the US-led relief effort in Haiti after coming up with a solution to a hi-tech cargo problem.

Ruan Courtney, president of the New York office, was contacted by a US government-appointed freight forwarder to help in the transport of a delicate cargo of computers and related hardware. The 18-ton cargo consisted of new computers and associated equipment that was too valuable and fragile to be shipped by sea or onboard scheduled air freight.

Ruan organized a charter flight from Miami to Port au Prince on behalf of the forwarder using a US-registered (as per shipper’s requirement) Boeing 727 Freighter.

The New York office also called upon their expertise in handling valuable air freight to assist in obtaining the necessary traffic rights and permits to allow the flight to go seamlessly. They were also able to help co-ordinate the loading of the aircraft to ensure the fragile cargo would arrive in perfect condition.

For more information on charters involving valuable equipment please contact our cargo department.

April 2005

Oversized cargo successfully loaded onto IL-76

A Russian-based oil company was spared a logistical headache with the successful transportation of an oversized piece of equipment - with literally inches to spare.

The extraordinary dimensions of the 16,800 kg piece, measuring 565 x 256.5 x 314 cm, meant this was one of the most challenging consignments dealt with by Air Charter Service's Moscow office.

However, Moscow General Director Sergey Vekhov chartered the rear-loading Ilyushin-76 aircraft for the job and the equipment was successfully loaded on to the aircraft, leaving a gap of just 6 cm between the top of the container and the ceiling.

The urgent charter, successfully carried out on March 23-24, flew from Johor Baru to Usno Sakhalinsk via a fuel-stop in Taipei. The equipment will now be put to use on an oil platform on the Sakhalin shelf.

After the successful transportation, a delighted Sergey admitted it had been one of the toughest cargo loads faced by the Moscow team.

He said: "Obviously we knew this would be a difficult item to charter due to its size but once we had worked through the logistical challenges we were confident we could transport it successfully.”

Contact our cargo department for more information on oversized cargo charters.

Air Charter Service add Antonov-74 to growing fleet

Air Charter Service's managed fleet has expanded once again with the welcome addition of an Antonov-74 aircraft that will be based with its crew at East-Midlands (EMA) in the UK.

The AN-74 operates with combined cargo and passenger configurations, making it an attractive option for customers wishing to send attendants with valuable technical or live cargo, including the transportation of horses.

Built in 1996, the YL-KSB jet aircraft is young for a cargo freighter, and complies with all modern aviation standards, including stage 3 noise certification.

The versatility of this aircraft proves a major selling point, including its long flight range and ability to use airfields that require short take-off and landings.

The aircraft is capable of taking 6,500 KGs and 10 passengers (or 7,500 KGs if solely using the cargo configuration), with a usable cargo space of 10 x 2.10 x 2 metres.

The new aircraft is European-registered and therefore does not require time-consuming traffic rights or permits in EU countries. This matched with the capability to be airborne with 90 minutes of confirmation means this aircraft is ideal for urgent charter requirements.

Commercial Director Justin Bowman revealed the aircraft was brought in to help meet the increased demand for the ACS managed fleet.

He added: "We have already chartered this aircraft several times, and it looks like our AN-74 will be a popular addition in the 'go-now' market."

For more information on this new aircraft please contact Justin Bowman.

Urgent charter to grounded private jet in Barbados

Ruan Courtney, President of Air Charter Service's New York office, prevented a client's island holiday ending in a frustrating wait on the tarmac in Barbados.

The VIP's Dassault Falcon was stranded on the tarmac at Bridgetown after it was discovered to be missing a fire extinguisher cartridge which legally needs to be carried for all flights - and Ruan received a call from a freight forwarder requesting assistance in getting a new one from New York to the Caribbean.

The owner of the jet needed to return from his family's vacation in Barbados back to New York as soon as possible and so wanted to minimize the delay as much as possible.

Despite the request coming on a Saturday Ruan had sourced a Learjet 24 Freighter for the job within 30 minutes and less than an hour later the cargo was loaded onto the aircraft at New York's Teterboro Airport for the 9 hour flight to Bridgetown.

Ruan worked through the night to track the flight and inform the customer of the aircraft's departure and arrival times as it traveled to the stricken jet.

The freight forwarder was extremely happy with the service and regular updates and the VIP was able to depart in his private jet less than an hour after the cargo arrived.

Ruan was pleased to have provided such a thorough operation to get the piece of cargo to the grounded jet.

He said: "it just goes to show that even the smallest piece of equipment can keep and aircraft from flying, so it is important that we can respond quickly to such requests with urgent consignments of equipment and spares."

Contact Ruan Courtney to find out more about urgent charters.

March 2005

British Government thank ACS for Tsunami efforts

Air Charter Service London has been thanked by the British Government for their "commitment and hard work" for their relief work following the Asian tsunami in December.
 
A letter, personally signed by Hilary Benn and Gareth Thomas of the Department for International Development (DFID), was sent to Chris Leach, Group Chairman, thanking staff for their work in helping to transport aid to the crisis-hit region.
 
"The speed, professionalism and practicality of the UK's response has been very impressive and is entirely down to the commitment and hard work of you and your colleagues. Both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister have expressed their appreciation to us”, said Thomas.

London based employees worked round the clock through their Christmas break to ensure aid was delivered to the affected countries - finding rapid logistical solutions during the chaotic first few days following the disaster.
 
Dan Morgan-Evans from the London office was repositioned to the DFID government building in Victoria Street, London, to co-ordinate operations between Air Charter Service and the department. The company also quickly deployed three members of their UK-based team - James Leach, Andrew James and Mike Walsh - to the the region to co-ordinate the aid flights from the ground in Malaysia and Indonesia.

The staff of Air Charter Service, which has a long-standing reputation for the swift despatch of urgent humanitarian cargo, were praised by DFID for their "speed, professionalism and practicality" in the wake of the disaster.
 
Chris Leach said: "When these disasters strike, virtually everyone in the country is moved by the desire to do something to help. At Air Charter Service, we are able to put our professionalism to work and I think we all recognise that, despite the hard work, being able to actually contribute is a very real privilege."
 

For further information on humanitarian aid charters please contact: new.york@aircharterserviceusa.com

Air Charter Service Conference 2005

The weekend of the February 4-6 saw members of Air Charter Service's London, New York and Moscow offices meet for the annual company conference, held this year in scenic Puerto Banus on Spain’s southern coast. We were also delighted to welcome guest speakers, Tony Bauckham, of Volga-Dnepr, and David Malempre the company's legal representative.

The weekend offered the opportunity for the company to review the remarkable achievements of 2004, and consider the bright future for the Air Charter Service group. As well as the conference itself, the weekend gave representatives the chance to enjoy team building exercises, presentations, and a formal dinner in the harbour’s top seafood restaurant.

Commercial Director Justin Bowman highlighted the exceptional achievements of the London Cargo Department that has turned over record profits in both ad-hoc and managed fleet charters. It has proved a busy year for his team, with flights being chartered to such places as Iraq, famine-hit Sudan, Haiti and, more recently, Southern Asia, devastated by the Tsunami.

Guest speaker Tony Bauckham, Sales and Marketing Director of Volga-Dnepr, praised the close working relationship of Air Charter Service with his company and spoke of the importance of building global bridges with companies such as ours in the cargo aviation market.

Passenger Sales Manager, Gavin Copus spoke positively about his rapidly expanding department which saw a record number of flights in 2004. As a result his department are moving to their own trading floor and doubling their number of staff in 2005.

Our Moscow office has continued its development in 2004 and will shortly move to new premises to accommodate the extra business generated as a result of their accomplishments. General Director Sergey Vekhov was upbeat at his expanding team's potential for the coming 12 months.

Ruan Courtney, President of our newly opened New York office, said he was confident that the Air Charter Service work ethic and quality of service will prove superior to all competition in the Tri-State area. Ruan is fully expecting Air Charter Service New York to outgrow their current offices within 18 months.

The achievements in London, Moscow and New York were underpinned by the news that the company is now financially stronger than ever. Finance Director Tina Leach was delighted to report that the last year has seen an 84 per cent increase in sales, and the group has increased its annual turnover to $70m.

Chris Leach, Group Chairman, ended the conference by stating that the Air Charter Service Group will continue along the current path that is proving so successful and spoke of plans to open more offices worldwide in the next few years.

Air Charter Service, with its unique way of working and its global vision, is preparing for a very exciting future.

For further information please contact: new.york@aircharterserviceusa.com

February 2005

Helicopters to aid Banda Ache region

As part of the on going Tsunami relief effort, the Air Charter Service Group completed nearly 50 flights in the month of January.

As part of our contact with the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID), Andy Holmes, based in our London office, sourced three SA330J Puma helicopters and two MI8 MTV helicopters to be flown in to the Banda Ache region of Indonesia to help distribute urgently required medical equipment and personnel.

Fortunately, the Puma’s had been in Spain during the summer as part of a fire fighting contract and were packed up and ready to be transported back to South Africa. Andy organised for the Puma’s to be flown on an AN124 from Seville in to Malaysia, where they were made operational, painted, and safety checked before being sent to Indonesia.

The MI8’s were sourced in Moldova and were released by their owners, the Moldovan Government, following extensive negotiations between Air Charter Service, DFID and the Moldovan authorities. They were flown on an AN124 to Medan in Indonesia where they are currently being used for cargo transportation.

For further information on relief work contact cargo@aircharterserviceusa.com

January 2005

Tsunami tragedy

2004 ended in tragic circumstances when an earthquake in the Indian Ocean created a devastating Tsunami in the Asia-Pacific region, with the loss of over 150,000 lives.

Our offices in London and New York have been heavily involved in getting aid to the worse hit regions; In the first week of January the London office have organised 15 flights to Phuket, Thailand; Jakarta, Indonesia; Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Medan and Banda Aceh on the Indonesian Island of Sumatra – an area that has been completely decimated.

So far 423 tons of tent, blankets, medical equipment, water purifying kits, and sanitation equipment have been flown out on behalf on various European aid agencies and the Government’s Department for International Development (DFID).

In addition, 400 tons of tents are being flown to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as part of a complex programme of flights for DFID using B747’s, Il76’s and MD11’s. A disused airfield has been re-opened to receive the aid. From there AN12’s are taking the cargo to the worse hit regions in Indonesia where helicopters will then distribute the tents to the local villages.

The New York office have organised a flight for the Canadian Red Cross in to Jakarta, Indonesia. The DC8 flew 29 tons of relief consisting of water bladders, plastic sheeting, generators and warehouse structures.

For further information on relief flights please contact new.york@aircharterserviceusa.com or london@aircharter.co.uk

More Air Charter Service news stories...