Ad-hoc, full, part and series cargo charter
One route, one aircraft, one accountable point of contact. A cargo charter is arranged per mission: we source freighter and combi capacity from operators across every region, compare it on payload, range, permits and price, and manage the movement end-to-end.
Submit a requirement any time — no account needed · first response usually within 60 minutes · 24/7 for AOG and time-critical. Optional: business account for status tracking
In short
A cargo charter is a single aircraft contracted for one shipment or a defined series, instead of buying space on a scheduled service. As an independent broker we source freighters worldwide, compare operators on payload, route, permits and price, and coordinate handling through to arrival.
Scope of service
No fleet exposure. Every mission is priced against multiple operators to match payload, route and timing.
Why book through CCN
No fleet exposure. Every mission is priced against multiple operators to match payload, route and timing.
Ad-hoc, part, split, back-to-back and series charter agreements built around your programme.
Slots, permits, handling, ULDs and ground transport aligned into one flight plan.
Direct to operator
In air cargo charter it is common for a requirement to travel through several intermediaries before it reaches the aircraft operator. Each layer adds its own commission to the same flight. We work directly with operators, so the quote you see carries one commercial layer.
Typical chain
With Cargo Charter Network
The requirement is not passed sideways to other brokers who each need to earn on the same lift.
We are remunerated by the operator. Our involvement does not add a separate fee to your charter price.
Payload, dimensions, ready date and airport constraints reach the operator unchanged, instead of being relayed through several desks.
Because we source across operators ourselves, you see the realistic market for that routing rather than whatever one intermediary could reach.
Availability, pricing and acceptance always remain with the operating carrier. Where a requirement can only be served through a partner, we say so before you decide.
How we work
Cargo Charter Network does not operate aircraft and employs no flight crew. Every flight is performed by a licensed operator we source, compare and coordinate.
Operators are checked for AOC validity, insurance, aircraft configuration and route authority for the specific mission before a price is put in front of you.
The same person handles sourcing, contract, permits, handling and flight watch, so there is no handover gap between quote and arrival.
We do not quote capacity that has not been checked with an operator, and we do not confirm acceptance of restricted commodities before the operator has accepted them in writing.
What we need to quote
Operational detail
Runway length, pavement classification, apron space, main-deck loader and slot availability decide which freighters are actually usable on your pairing, not the aircraft type alone.
Advertised payload is a structural figure. Usable payload on your sector depends on fuel uplift, tech stops, temperature and airport elevation. We quote the payload you can actually load.
Overflight and landing permits drive the earliest realistic departure on many lanes. We flag the permit critical path with the first proposal, not after contracting.
Typical requirements
Anonymised examples of requirements evaluated by the desk. Not a record of completed flights.
Charter enquiry
Four lines are enough to start sourcing. The rest is confirmed once your business account is verified.
Full, part or series charter — options come back with payload, slots and handling.
How the process works
Requirement intake, route, ready date, commodity, weight, dimensions and handling.
Aircraft and operator sourcing across the network, with commercial comparison.
Fixed proposal covering price, timing, handling and applicable conditions.
Contracting, permits, slots and handling coordination through to arrival.
How to submit a requirement
You send the requirement straight to the desk — no account needed. We work it against operators immediately and come back with compared options.
Route, ready date, weight, dimensions, commodity and handling notes — no account, a few minutes.
Availability, payload and route permissions are checked directly with operators.
Compared operator options with payload, slots, handling and timeline — one accountable contact.
For status tracking and document exchange in the portal. Account verification is usually the same business day.
No supplier identities, margins or internal sourcing data are shared. Requirement data is treated confidentially.
Aircraft
Availability is subject to route, payload, permits and operator acceptance.
Capacity structures
The same requirement can be bought as a whole aircraft, as a share of one, as reserved space on a running rotation or as leased capacity with crew. The structure decides the price far more than the aircraft type does.
01
One shipment fills a deck, or timing and commodity rule out sharing
You control the schedule, the loading plan and the routing.
02
Volume fills part of a deck and the ready date tolerates consolidation
Cost is shared across shippers inside one build-up window.
03
Recurring volume on a lane that already has a rotation
A fixed allocation per flight, committed for a defined period.
04
Capacity is needed for weeks or months, not for one flight
Aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance leased against guaranteed block hours.
Fuel, ATC, airport charges, handling and de-icing sit outside an ACMI rate. On charter they are inside the quoted price unless stated otherwise.
Around the flight
A charter is only as good as the ground scope attached to it. These items are quoted and coordinated as part of the mission, not left to the shipper.
Export and import entries, transit procedures, temporary export for repair, preferential origin papers and the broker interface at both ends.
Pallet and container build-up, load spreading, lashing plans and guidance where packaging would fail an operator acceptance check.
Pre-carriage, on-carriage, air-ride equipment where needed, low-loaders and permitted road routes for outsize crates.
Overflight, landing and cabotage permits, airport slots, night curfew handling and diplomatic clearances where they apply.
Cool storage, active or passive units, cool dollies, data loggers and shock or tilt indicators read at each handover.
Loading supervision, attendants for live cargo, security escorts and sealed handovers for high-value consignments.
Routing patterns
Three requirement shapes the desk prices most weeks on general cargo charters. Figures are anonymised from evaluated mandates.
Regions handled most often
Airport pairings are checked for runway length, PCN, apron space, loader type and slot before any aircraft is proposed.
Charter background
A full charter contracts the whole aircraft for one movement, which gives you the payload, the schedule and the loading plan. A part charter shares the aircraft with cargo of compatible commodity and timing, priced pro-rata. A series contracts a fixed number of rotations on the same lane, which lowers the unit cost and secures capacity ahead of the peak.
The right structure follows the volume pattern. One-off surges take an ad-hoc charter, a repeating seasonal flow is usually cheaper as a series, and a permanent flow belongs in an ACMI or block hour programme.
Airport compatibility for the aircraft type, runway and apron limits, freighter handling and loader availability, night curfews and slot pressure, customs and permit lead times, and whether the piece dimensions fit the intended main-deck door.
These checks decide whether a headline price survives contact with the operation. A cheaper aircraft at an airport that cannot handle it is not a saving.
Questions
Answers from daily desk work: payload, ready date, permits and cost drivers.
See all questionsStandard cargo requests are typically quoted within a few hours; AOG and same-day missions are handled immediately by the 24/7 desk.
No. Cargo Charter Network is an independent broker. Aircraft are operated by regulated cargo operators we source, compare and coordinate on your behalf.
An air cargo charter is a freighter aircraft contracted for one specific movement or a defined programme, instead of buying space on a scheduled flight. The buyer controls the routing, the departure window and the loading plan, and the aircraft flies when the cargo is ready rather than when the network schedule allows. Charter is used when the cargo is too heavy, too large, too urgent or too sensitive for scheduled capacity, or when an entire production line depends on one delivery date.
A full charter contracts the entire cargo capacity of the aircraft for your mission, so routing and timing follow only your requirement. A part charter combines several shippers on one aircraft when commodity, routing and timing are compatible, and the cost is shared pro rata against weight and volume. A series charter is a repeating rotation over weeks or months, typically used for perishables, e-commerce peaks and industrial ramp-ups, and is priced against the whole programme rather than a single flight.
Both. Airport-to-airport is the default, and door-to-door is arranged through vetted trucking and handling partners, including customs clearance, temperature-controlled road feeder services and heavy-lift ground equipment where required. For project cargo we plan the ground legs before the flight, because road permits and crane windows often take longer to secure than the aircraft.
A ULD is a unit load device, either a pallet with a net or a container, used to build cargo into stable, loadable units. Main-deck operations usually require ULD build-up to a defined contour, and pallet availability at the origin airport is a real planning factor on remote stations. For loose or oddly shaped cargo we plan build-up, lashing and tie-down with the handling agent in advance.
The operator applies for the permits, and we coordinate the process, track the approvals and escalate where a state is slow. Lead times differ sharply by country, from a few hours to several working days, and some states require additional documentation for military-related, dangerous or humanitarian cargo. Permit timelines, not aircraft availability, are the most common reason an urgent departure slips.
Yes, through customs brokers on both ends of the lane, either as part of a door-to-door scope or coordinated alongside an airport-to-airport charter. Clearance is arranged in advance for time-critical movements so the aircraft is not waiting on documentation. For temporary imports, carnets and re-export cases we plan the customs path before the flight is confirmed.
Talk to the desk
AOG and time-critical requirements can be raised by phone or email at any time — no account required.
Keep reading
Related services
Knowledge
Send the requirement and the desk will come back with sourced options, or call now if it is time-critical.
