Heavy, outsize and project cargo
Freight that will not fit a standard ULD or main-deck door needs the right freighter, the right loadmaster and the right ground equipment. We source main-deck and ramp-loaded aircraft for oversized, heavy and out-of-gauge units.
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
Outsize in brief
Heavy and oversized air cargo is cargo that exceeds standard ULD dimensions or single-piece weight limits and must be matched to a specific door, floor loading and loading method. The aircraft is selected from the piece list, not from the total tonnage.
Scope of service
Dimensions, centre of gravity, floor loading and door envelope validated before aircraft selection.
Where an outsize move is won or lost
Dimensions, centre of gravity, floor loading and door envelope validated before aircraft selection.
IL-76, Antonov and specialist freighters where nose-load or rear-ramp access is required.
Coordination of loaders, cranes, jigs and escorts at origin and destination.
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
Oversized cargo is a geometry problem first. We check door apertures, floor loading limits and turn radii inside the hold before any aircraft is offered.
Running load and point load limits often decide the aircraft, not gross weight. Spreader beams and cradles may be required and priced in.
Cranes, low-loaders, route surveys and police escorts on the road legs are coordinated with the flight so the aircraft is not held on ground.
Outsize enquiry
Door aperture, floor load and centre of gravity decide feasibility — give us the box and we shortlist aircraft.
Crane, rigging and ramp requirements are coordinated with the operator and handler.
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.
Outsize cases
On outsize work the door aperture, floor loading and ramp angle rule out most freighters long before payload does.
Regions handled most often
Send a dimensioned drawing with centre of gravity and lifting points — that single file decides the shortlist.
Loading outsize freight
Heavy and oversized cargo is not sized by weight alone. The limits that matter are main-deck door height and width, floor running and point loads, turning radius inside the hold, and the loader or crane capacity at both airports.
A piece that fits a B747F nose door is a very different mission from one that only fits an An-124. Send drawings or dimensioned photographs early, they change the aircraft choice more often than weight does.
Heavy charters usually need cradles or stands, lashing plans, sometimes a crane at origin or destination, and permits for the road leg. We coordinate the ground scope with the flight so the aircraft is not waiting on a truck.
Where a piece exceeds road limits, the airport choice follows the road route rather than the shortest air distance.
Questions
Answers from daily desk work: payload, ready date, permits and cost drivers.
See all questionsOutsize pieces well beyond 40 tonnes are movable on An-124 class aircraft, subject to dimensions, floor loading and airport capability. The limit is usually geometry, not weight.
Dimensioned drawings or photographs with measurements let us confirm loadability before an aircraft is committed, which avoids costly late changes.
Yes. Cranes, low-loaders, rigging crews and escorts are arranged through specialist partners and sequenced against the flight schedule, so the piece arrives airside in the correct orientation and within the loading window.
Nose loading is available on B747 freighter variants and on the An-124, and rear ramp loading on the IL-76, An-12 and military-derived types. It matters for long pieces such as blades, pipes, fuselage sections and rail components that cannot be rotated inside the cabin. Where nose loading is not available, the piece must fit through the side cargo door at its diagonal, which is a stricter constraint than most shippers expect.
Send length, width, height and weight per piece, plus the centre of gravity and lifting points for anything heavy. We check it against main-deck door dimensions, contour limits, floor loading in kilograms per square metre and the loading method available at both airports. A piece that fits geometrically can still fail on floor strength or on the equipment available on the ramp, so both checks are done before the offer.
Talk to the desk
AOG and time-critical requirements can be raised by phone or email at any time — no account required.
Keep reading
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Knowledge
Send the requirement and the desk will come back with sourced options, or call now if it is time-critical.
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