Pricing structure and cost drivers
Cargo charter cost: how the price is built
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A charter price is not a rate per kilogram from a tariff. It is the cost of one aircraft flying one rotation — including the empty legs to get there and back. The calculator below gives an indicative range; a firm price only comes from operators for the exact route and date.
Cost transparency
Block hours, positioning, handling, parking — every line named before you commit.
CCN is an independent broker and operates no aircraft. Each mission is placed with a regulated operator after comparing several options. How independent brokerage works.
What makes up a cargo charter price
- Flight time (block hours) of the loaded leg
- Positioning and return legs, often flown empty
- Fuel, priced at the date of the flight
- Landing, parking, navigation and overflight fees
- Handling, loading equipment and ground services at both ends
- Crew costs for night stops or extended duty
- Permits, insurance and any special handling surcharge
Each driver is explained in depth in cargo charter cost drivers.
How the flight itself is organised is described under cargo charter.
Price indication
What does an air cargo charter cost?
Set the mission parameters and get a realistic market range in seconds — non-binding, before you speak to anyone.
- 01Ranges reflect current charter and ACMI market levels, updated against live quoting.
- 02Benchmark: ~100 t of perishables Nairobi–Liège roundtrip currently trades around US$450–550k on B747F-class lift.
- 03Intercontinental missions from non-hub origins carry significant positioning cost — long-haul estimates include it.
- 04A firm figure always follows an operator check — availability, positioning and fuel decide.
Calculator
Route distance
Cargo type
Mission type
Payload
Aircraft category
Estimated range, round trip
Indicative rangeUS$240,000 – US$290,000
≈ €220,800 – €266,800
Aircraft category: Medium freighter
Approx. block time: 17 h (two sectors)
Included in the charter rangeHide details
- Aircraft, crew and fuel
- Standard airport and navigation charges
- Positioning and ferry legs, scaled by distance band
- Standard ground handling
Indicative, non-binding market ranges in USD (EUR converted at 0.92). Final pricing depends on operator availability, season, fuel, routing and cargo specifics. A binding quote follows a documented requirement.
No account needed · first response usually within 60 minutes
Detailed cost breakdownWhen a charter price is competitive — and when it is not
A good fit when
- — The aircraft is well filled by weight or volume
- — Return cargo or a nearby positioning aircraft cuts empty legs
- — The alternative is a missed deadline whose cost exceeds the charter
Usually not the right choice when
- — The load uses a fraction of the aircraft — a part charter or scheduled service is cheaper
- — Long empty positioning is needed for a short loaded leg
- — The date is flexible — a later scheduled or sea option costs much less
For recurring capacity, block-hour pricing under ACMI wet lease can work better.
Alternatives to a full aircraft are compared under air freight charter.
What the desk needs for a firm price
Full checklist: what a firm cargo charter quote needs.
- 01Exact origin and destination airports
- 02Ready date and flexibility in days
- 03Weight, volume and largest piece dimensions
- 04Commodity and special handling
- 05Incoterm or who pays which leg, if relevant
Aircraft size and price (indicative)
A larger aircraft costs more per hour but less per kilogram when it is full. Choosing the smallest type that carries the load is usually the strongest lever.
- Boeing 737-800BCFPayload: 21,450 kgMain deck door: 3.40 m × 2.16 m (side)
- Boeing 767-300FPayload: 53,977–54,884 kg (by engine)Main deck door: 3.40 m × 2.54 m (side)
- Boeing 777FPayload: ≈ 102,000 kgMain deck door: 3.72 m × 3.05 m (side)
- Boeing 747-400FPayload: 112,900 kg (747-8F: ≈ 134,000 kg — indicative value, not manufacturer-verified)Main deck side door: 3.4 m wide × 3.1 m high (clear opening)
Indicative — depends on route, fuel, density and operator. CCN operates no aircraft; types shown are examples operators offer, not a fleet.
What can change a quoted price
- Fuel price movements between quote and flight
- Slot or permit changes that add stops or waiting time
- Actual weight or dimensions differing from the request
- Delays at loading that extend crew duty or parking
- Quote validity running out before signature
How a price becomes a contract
- 01Indicative range from the calculator or the desk.
- 02Firm offers from operators for your route and date.
- 03Comparison of total cost, not just the hourly rate.
- 04Signature within validity; changes are re-priced before the flight.
How to read a cargo charter quote
- Aircraft type, operator and registration where already allocated
- Routing, technical stops and planned timings (local times)
- Usable payload and volume for your cargo on this routing
- Price basis (per flight, per block hour or per rotation), currency and validity
- Inclusions and exclusions — handling, fuel, permits, insurance, positioning
- Subject-to conditions: availability at signature, permits, slots, operator acceptance
- Fuel basis: included at a fixed price or adjusted to the flight date
- Payment terms and cancellation conditions
Questions
Frequently asked questions
See all questionsIt depends on aircraft type, sector length and positioning. A short narrow-body freighter sector and an intercontinental main-deck wide-body mission are orders of magnitude apart, which is why every requirement is quoted individually.
Our proposals state exactly what is included and how long the price holds. Availability moves quickly, so quotes carry a validity window.
Our commercial terms are stated in the proposal. You see one price for the mission with the inclusions listed.
Charter is priced per mission, not per kilogram, so the total depends on aircraft type, block hours, positioning legs, fuel, crew duty limits, airport and handling charges, permits and any waiting time.
A regional turboprop movement can sit in the low five figures, a narrowbody freighter sector in the mid five figures, and an intercontinental widebody or outsize rotation well into six figures. The realistic figure for your lane comes from the actual routing and dates, which is why our desk quotes against a defined requirement rather than a headline rate.
Five factors dominate: where the aircraft is before your flight, the flown distance and resulting block hours, the fuel uplift and fuel price at the departure station, the ground cost at both airports, and the regulatory work needed for the routing and the commodity.
Positioning is the one buyers underestimate most, because an empty leg from the aircraft's current base to your loading point is charged even though no cargo moves on it. Flexible dates often reduce the positioning cost more than any negotiation on the hourly rate.
Only when the aircraft is well filled. A charter has a fixed mission cost, so the effective rate per kilogram falls as payload rises, and a full main deck can beat express rates on dense cargo.
For small consignments scheduled freight is usually cheaper, and the case for charter is then made by control of timing, single-piece dimensions or handling requirements rather than by unit rate.
Freighters are rarely parked where the cargo is. Positioning is the flight that brings the aircraft to your loading airport, and depositioning is the return to its base or next mission. Both consume crew hours, fuel and airport charges, so they form part of the mission price.
Choosing an airport close to an operator's home base, or accepting a slightly wider departure window, is the fastest way to reduce that share.
The most common variables are aircraft waiting time at loading or unloading, changes to the cargo after the offer, deicing in winter operations, extended overflight routings caused by airspace restrictions and fuel price movements on long lead times. Each of these is stated as an assumption in the offer, with the mechanism for adjustment.
If the cargo and dates stay as described, the price stays as quoted.
