How a cargo charter booking works

Step 1: the requirement data set

Sourcing starts when the mission is described in operational terms. Nine fields decide which aircraft can even be considered, and an incomplete set produces indicative numbers that will move later.

A forwarder booking on behalf of a shipper should send the same fields. Nothing about the end customer is required at this stage.

Airport pair

IATA or ICAO codes for origin and destination, plus any preferred alternate.

Ready date and window

When cargo is at the ramp and how far the date can move.

Weight and pieces

Total kilos, number of pieces, single heaviest piece.

Dimensions

Length, width and height per piece, stackable or not.

Commodity

Plain description plus dangerous goods class, temperature range or live animal type.

Step 2: feasibility before pricing

Before an operator is approached, the mission is checked against physics and paperwork. Piece dimensions are matched against door apertures and main deck contours, weight against payload at the required range, and the airport pair against main deck handling capability, runway length, curfews and customs hours.

Where a station cannot take the type, the check produces an alternate airport with a trucking leg rather than a quote that fails at the ramp. This step prevents the most expensive category of error: an aircraft that arrives and cannot be loaded.

Step 3: operator sourcing across the market

The requirement goes to operators whose fleet, region and approvals fit the mission, not to a single carrier relationship. Aircraft ending nearby missions are the first target because their positioning cost is the lowest available on that day.

Operator selection is a filter, not a list. Each candidate is checked on AOC validity and scope, insurance limits, the specific approvals a mission needs such as dangerous goods or live animals, and recent performance on comparable lanes.

Step 4: comparing options like for like

Options rarely arrive comparable. One includes handling, another excludes it. One quotes a straight sector, another a tech stop. Options are normalised before they are presented so that price, elapsed time and risk can be read side by side.

Each option is presented with aircraft type, total block hours including positioning, the schedule with slot status, what is included and what is a pass through, and the conditions that would move the price.

Step 5: award, contract and payment

One charter agreement is signed for the mission. It fixes the aircraft type or an agreed substitution rule, the schedule, the price with its validity and fuel indexation, ground time allowances, demurrage, cancellation terms and the liability regime under the Montreal Convention.

Prepayment before departure is standard in the charter market. Approved account customers can be set up with terms, which is one reason business verification runs before the first mission rather than during it.

Step 6: permits, slots and ground arrangements

With the award confirmed, landing and overflight permits are filed along the routing, airport slots and ground time are booked, and handling is ordered with the equipment the aircraft actually needs. Dangerous goods, live animals and pharmaceutical loads add acceptance checks and sometimes an authority attendance at the ramp.

Permit lead time is the most common reason a departure moves. Restricted airspace, military cargo and certain commodity classes need working days rather than hours, which is why routing and permits are decided together.

Step 7: loading, departure and flight watch

Build up, weight and balance, securing and load plan are agreed with the handler before the aircraft arrives. On outsize loads the load plan is checked against floor loading limits and lashing points before the first piece moves.

From chocks off, the mission is watched: departure, en route position, arrival, offload and any deviation. Status goes to one contact rather than to a chain of forwarded messages, and documentation closes the file with the air waybill and proof of delivery.

What speeds the process up

Two thirds of lost time in a charter booking happens before the aircraft is even selected. Three things remove most of it.

Put a profile on file in advance

Optional, but useful: company details, commodity profile and contacts are already there when the AOG happens.

Send piece dimensions with the first message

Weight alone cannot select an aircraft. Dimensions decide door fit and therefore the type.

State the real decision path

Who approves the price and by when. Options hold for hours, not days.