Air cargo charter
a full aircraft for your cargo
Air cargo charters are for shipments too big, heavy or urgent for scheduled flights. A passenger aircraft's lower deck limits piece height, while a freighter with a nose door or rear ramp — Il-76, Boeing 747F, An-124 — can carry equipment in one piece.
The price is per whole flight and includes positioning if the aircraft is not based at the origin airport. If you cannot fill the whole aircraft, we look at a part charter shared with other shippers.
Specification
Specification · Air cargo charter. Standard terms · aircraft type, departure window and price are confirmed per flight
Service
- Cargo
- bulky, heavy, outsize, urgent
- Format
- full or part charter
- Options
- loading supervisor, outsize trucking
Terms
- Timing
- flight preparation — several working days
- Documents
- export, DT, DG if any — included
- Currency
- USD / RUB
Logistics
- Before the flight
- aircraft, permits, load plan
- Flight
- loading, lashing, direct flight
- After
- unloading, customs, delivery to site
Price
- Base
- price per flight incl. positioning
- Extras
- aircraft delay, special equipment, outsize trucking — on request
Service flow
- 01
Cargo brief
We collect weights, dimensions, centre of gravity, lifting points, dates and airports, and check both airports have an international border checkpoint and the right handling equipment.
1 day - 02
Aircraft sourcing
We request offers from operators, compare aircraft type, departure window, positioning legs and cost, then agree the contract and load plan.
1–3 days - 03
Permits and preparation
The operator obtains ad-hoc flight permits and airport slots; we prepare export and DT documents and bring the cargo to the aircraft.
2–7 days - 04
Loading, flight, customs
Loading per plan under a supervisor, lashing, departure; on arrival — unloading and customs clearance at the airport.
1–2 days - 05
Door delivery
Delivery to site, if needed by outsize trucks with route permits.
1–3 days
Problems
A piece did not fit through the door or exceeded the floor loading limit — discovered at the aircraft.
We choose the aircraft type with a margin on dimensions and agree the load plan, lashing and floor loading with the operator in advance.
The aircraft is ready but the cargo is still on the road or not cleared for export — the operator charges for the delay.
We set the departure window after the cargo and documents are ready and complete export clearance before the aircraft is positioned.
The chosen airport does not handle international flights or lacks equipment to unload heavy pieces.
Before signing we check the border checkpoint, customs and ground handling at both airports and, if needed, propose a nearby alternative.
Documents
For a charter, accurate cargo data matters most: weight and dimensions of every piece, centre of gravity, lifting points. They determine the aircraft type and load plan — a mistake costs aircraft downtime.
Incoterms
- FCA
- FCA origin airport — the buyer charters the aircraft
- CPT
- the seller pays the charter to the destination airport
- DAP
- the seller delivers to site, import clearance on the buyer
Documents
- Charter agreement
- flight, aircraft type, departure window, payment terms, cancellation and delay terms
- Packing List
- weight, dimensions, centre of gravity and lifting points of each piece
- Commercial invoice
- for export and the DT at the arrival airport
- Air waybill
- AWB for the whole load or per consignment
- DG documents
- Shipper's Declaration and MSDS if the load includes dangerous goods
FAQ
When the cargo won't fit scheduled flights by size, the shipment is close to a full aircraft load, or a direct flight on a specific date is required. For large volumes a charter can be comparable per kg to splitting the shipment across many scheduled flights, and far more predictable on timing.
The price is per whole flight and depends on aircraft type, distance, positioning to the loading airport, airport and navigation charges and ground handling. There is no fixed price list — we request rates from operators for your dates and cargo. We need piece weights and dimensions, airports and the departure window.
The aircraft is matched to the cargo: an Il-76 with a rear ramp carries around 40 t and roll-on vehicles, a Boeing 747F with a nose door about 100 t and long pieces, an An-124 up to ~120 t and the largest items. Actual payload depends on the flight distance. Dangerous goods on a charter still follow IATA DGR.
We do, together with the operator: we arrange slots at the departure and arrival airports and permits for the ad-hoc international flight, including for off-network airports. The arrival airport must have an international border checkpoint — we check this before signing.
Flight preparation usually takes several working days: aircraft sourcing, permits, load plan, export. An urgent charter can be faster if an aircraft is available nearby and the cargo documents are ready. The earlier dates and cargo data are known, the more options and the lower the price.