Knowledge
What is a cargo charter?
A cargo charter is a freighter aircraft contracted for a specific mission or programme rather than moving as scheduled airline capacity. The buyer contracts the aircraft's cargo hold, full or in part, for a defined route and window.
A cargo charter is a dedicated freighter flight booked for one shipper or programme. The buyer controls routing, timing and the full main deck, and pays for the aircraft rather than per kilo of general cargo.
Charter versus scheduled airfreight
Scheduled airfreight buys space on a flight an airline is operating anyway. Capacity, routing and departure are the airline's decision, the shipment can be offloaded in favour of higher-yield cargo, and dimensions are limited by the loading door of whatever aircraft is rostered that day.
A charter reverses the relationship. The aircraft flies because of your cargo. Routing, ready date, departure window and technical stops are built around the requirement, and the main deck is reserved for you. That is why charter is the default for line-down situations, outsize pieces, live animals, high-value consignments and volumes that scheduled capacity simply cannot absorb in the time available.
The trade-off is commercial: you carry the cost of the whole aircraft, including positioning to your origin and repositioning afterwards. The break-even point is usually reached earlier than buyers expect once penalty costs, production downtime or spoilage are included in the comparison.
Full charter
The buyer contracts the entire cargo capacity of the aircraft for the mission. Price is built from aircraft type, block hours on the routing, positioning and repositioning legs, crew duty limits, fuel, overflight and landing permits, airport charges, ground handling and any special handling such as DG acceptance or temperature monitoring.
Full charter is used where the cargo fills the aircraft, where dimensions require a main deck, or where the buyer needs sole control of timing and routing. Almost all AOG, project cargo, outsize, humanitarian and live-animal missions are full charters.
Part charter
Multiple shippers combine on one flight where commodity, timing and routing align. Cost is shared pro-rata against chargeable weight and volume, which reduces the price per shipper substantially against a dedicated flight.
Part charter works when your window has some tolerance. It does not work when the cargo is incompatible with other consignments (dangerous goods segregation, live animals, strict temperature bands) or when the ready date is fixed to the hour.
Series and programme charter
A series is a rotation of flights over a defined period: a weekly perishables lane out of East Africa, a seasonal e-commerce peak programme, or an industrial ramp-up feeding a production line. Series pricing improves against ad-hoc because the operator can plan crew, maintenance and positioning across the whole block.
Where a programme runs for months rather than weeks, the commercial structure often shifts from charter to ACMI or a hybrid, with guaranteed monthly block hours instead of per-flight pricing.
What drives the price
Aircraft type and size, sector length and block hours, positioning distance from where the aircraft is available, fuel price at the uplift stations, airport and handling charges, permits and slots, night curfews, crew duty and the need for a second crew on long routings, and the level of special handling required.
Two quotes for the same route can differ substantially because one operator has an aircraft already close to the origin and the other must position it several hours empty. This is precisely what a broker compares.
Lead time and documentation
Standard freighters on well-served lanes can often be moved within 12 to 48 hours. Outsize types such as the An-124 and missions requiring diplomatic or overflight clearances need materially longer, and dangerous goods, live animals and some humanitarian corridors add documentation and approval steps.
Documentation typically includes the air waybill, packing list, commercial invoice, and where applicable the DG declaration, MSDS, CITES or veterinary certificates, and export or customs paperwork at both ends. Missing paperwork, not aircraft availability, is the most common reason a charter slips.
The broker's role
An independent broker sources aircraft across operators rather than selling one fleet, compares them on payload, loadability, range, permits, operator acceptance and price, structures the contract, and coordinates handling, slots, permits and trucking into one plan under a single point of contact.
Cargo Charter Network does not operate aircraft. That independence is what makes neutral operator comparison possible.
Do I need to send the exact dimensions?+
Yes. Dimensions and weight per piece drive aircraft selection and loadability, especially for anything approaching main-deck door limits. Send length, width, height and weight per piece plus stackability and whether the piece is on a pallet, skid or in a crate.
Can I book door-to-door?+
Yes. Cargo Charter Network coordinates trucking, export handling and last-mile delivery through vetted partners in addition to the flight, so the requirement stays with one point of contact.
How quickly can a cargo charter depart?+
On well-served lanes with standard freighters, typically 12 to 48 hours from firm instruction, subject to aircraft position, crew duty, slots and permits. Outsize aircraft and restricted airspace need more.
Is charter always more expensive than scheduled airfreight?+
Per kilo, usually yes for small shipments. For full main-deck volumes, outsize pieces or time-critical situations where downtime, penalties or spoilage are in play, charter is frequently the lower total cost.
More answers in the FAQ hub with 50+ questions.
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