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December 2005

DC-3 in Bahamas charter

A client looking to transport heavy marble for an urgent ship refurbishment called Air Charter Service 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 to speed up the delivery.

James Cristofoli of Air Charter Service 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 us for more on urgent charters.

Good year for wine charters

Air Charter Service were this month called upon to charter a DC-10 aircraft to carry over 62 tonnes of French wine around the world to Fukuoka, Japan, where stocks are currently flying off the shelf.

The Beaujolais was destined for the Japanese market where the drink is proving very popular, especially this year for which experts have rated the quality produced to be good.

Despite facing a massive mountain of wine to move, Air Charter Service's Ben Dinsdale kept a steady head and arranged for a DC-10 to fly the cargo as a single consignment from Vatry (XCR) to Fukuoka (FUK).

More on worldwide air charters.

Wind put back in sails

Richard Thompson of Air Charter Service is riding on the crest of a wave after helping a team competing in the Volvo Ocean Race get their race back on course after freak weather damaged their yacht in Spain.

Several teams were waiting in the Bay of Biscay , just hours before Ocean Race was due to start, when a storm hit badly damaging some of the expensive yachts.

One of the teams assessed the damage and felt that if they could rush down a new sail to replace the one torn apart by the winds they might still just make the start of the event.

The team found an anchor in the shape of Richard Thompson, who immediately chartered a Metro 3 aircraft to carry the specialist sail required from Southampton (SOU) to Vigo (VGO).

The fast reaction from Richard and the team paid off as the yacht repairs went well and the yacht made the starting point in time for the big race.

Contact us for more on urgent charters.

November 2005

MI-8 helicopters fly aid in Pakistan

Air Charter Service have continued their heavy involvement in the ongoing relief effort in the earthquake devastated regions of northern Pakistan, especially with the provision of Mil-8MTV helicopters to carry vital aid programme to remote areas.

The London office of Air Charter Service received an urgent call from the UN to source helicopters for the relief effort. Paul Bennet, Senior Charter Analyst sourced two suitable aircraft which were quickly ferried to Pakistan for the project.

Two Air Charter Service staff, Mike Walsh and Stuart Smith, were deployed to Islamabad to manage operational procedures. Considered vital relief personal they were issued with 90 day emergency visas to allow them to work and move freely through the region.

Their tasks were to set up accommodation and logistics for the flight crews, to attended briefings with the UN and meet with Pakistani Air force officials to co-ordinate the helicopter flight procedures. They also facilitated in getting the aircraft passed in the pre flight inspections and were successful in getting them airborne within 24hrs of arrival in Pakistan.

Since the operation began, the helicopters have been in overdrive carrying relief personal and cargo as well as injured refugees to hospitals from the affected areas. Added to this, Air Charter Service's role has now evolved into acting as a crucial link between the UN and the crews. Air Charter Service now facilitate UNHAS in attending safety briefings at the local military bunkers where the USAF and PAF brief all managers and crews on the latest developments.

A UN spokesperson quoted the following: "The task we face is far worse than the Asian Tsunami. The terrain and sheer size is equivalent to Norway being flattened"

He added: "The UN estimated that we need to feed 1 million people for 1 yr but that after reassessing the situation, a figure of 2,4 million people is more likely. It is a race against time with the winter approaching and there is only a small window of opportunity to get supplies through."

For more information please contact our urgent aid specialist.

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."

Contact an expert on urgent 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 more 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.

ACS lay down the 6-a-side challenge

Air Charter Service F.C. are fast becoming a 6-a-side football force to be reckoned with after dispatching of both World Fuel Sevices and Bellville Rodair International in recent aviation industry showdowns.

The World Fuel team fielded two ex-ACS stars - Andy Green and Colin Hampson – giving the game an extra edge. ACS established the early lead but following an injury to Justin ‘JJ’ Lancaster the opposition fought their way back into the tie. ACS were just able to hang on, turning in 9-8 winners.

Bellville Rodair were next to take on ACS, putting in a battling performance that showed early promise. However, the sweltering summer heat took its toll on the Bellville team and ACS ran away with it in the final stages of the game. Matt Purton and Justin Bowman looked ruthless in front of goal, and the game ended 11-5.

Buoyant team captain Dan Morgan-Evans has now speculated whether there are any other aviation companies who would be able beat his team.

He told us: “We are hoping that our bold claim to be the best aviation industry team around prompts other companies to challenge us to a match… and of course join us for an after game drink!”

To challenge Air Charter Service contact Dan Morgan-Evans.

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.

July 2005

R.E.M. hectic tour schedule

Air Charter Service’s Justin Bowman was left feeling like he could put a Man On The Moon after arranging three large, tightly-scheduled flights for Rock-It Cargo. The London office based Commercial Director worked closely with them, chartering an A300 to fly American rock group R.E.M’s equipment to three dates on their hectic European Tour.

The tightest of the operations was conducted after R.E.M.'s show in Bologna, Italy. The group laid their instruments down at 11.30pm on the Saturday night, and needed every piece rushed to the Isle of Wight Festival in the UK by 9am Sunday morning. This task was made all the more difficult as the nearest appropriate airport to the destination was Bournemouth, on the UK mainland - which does not have a high-loader that could deal with the freight.

The solution was to arrange for a high-loader to be sent down from London Stansted before the aircraft landed. This involved a crane to initially lift the vehicle onto a low-loading truck and then a police escort to accompany the wide load down to the south coast where it would wait for band's cargo.

To the delight of Air Charter Service and Rock-It Cargo the plans ran smoothly and the equipment reached the Isle of Wight Festival site in time.

Justin admitted he was pleased with the success of the project.

He added: “It’s great when everyone pulls together to find solutions and get the job done properly. I don’t know about the band but we were certainly all left exhausted!”

For more information on time sensitive charters contact our cargo charter experts.

Charter for hotel refurbishment

The New York Office received a call on a Friday afternoon from a freight forwarder who urgently needed to charter an aircraft to fly 4.5 tonnes of luxury carpet, fixtures and fittings from Miami to Montego Bay, Jamaica.

The rolls of carpet and the rest of the freight was destined for the reopening of the Ritz Carlton Hotel which was badly damaged by torrential rains and storms on April 27th 2005.

The consignment was scheduled to fly on a commercial airline but at the last minute they rejected it due to lack of space. The hotel urgently needed to get the carpet there that evening to complete the refurbishment and open in time the next morning.

The staff in NY sourced a DC-9 jet and within a few hours the cargo was loaded onboard and on its way to Jamaica. It arrived that night in time for workers to complete refurbishment and open for business the following day.

Contact our cargo department.

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