Emergency and deadline-driven air freight
Time-critical logistics by air charter
When the cost of waiting is a stopped line, a grounded aircraft or a missed clinical window, the decision is not about freight rates. It is about the earliest wheels-up that is legally and physically possible.
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
Time-critical logistics moves cargo where delay costs more than transport: stopped production lines, grounded aircraft, medical and emergency consignments. By charter, the departure is fixed to your ready time, and permits, customs and handling are planned in parallel so the aircraft leaves as early as it legally can.
- Activation
- 24/7, sourcing starts on contact
- Typical departure
- Hours where aircraft and crew are on station
- Bottlenecks
- Permits, duty limits, airport hours
- Coverage
- Worldwide, airport or door
Scope of service
Time-Critical Logistics
Aircraft searched from the moment the requirement lands, not after a quote round.
- Production line-down and automotive emergency flights
- AOG aircraft parts and engine movements
- Clinical trial, medical device and emergency health shipments
- Machinery breakdown and spare part recovery
- Same-day and next-morning departure planning
Why speed needs a plan
Immediate sourcing
Aircraft searched from the moment the requirement lands, not after a quote round.
Permit realism
Overflight and landing permits assessed up front so the departure time holds.
Ground control
Handling, customs and trucking arranged in parallel with the flight, not after it.
Direct to operator
One brokerage layer, not three.
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
- 01Shipper or forwarder issues the requirement
- 02Broker A takes the enquiry, adds margin
- 03Broker B or C is asked for capacity, adds margin
- 04Operator finally quotes the flight
With Cargo Charter Network
- 01You submit the requirement once
- 02We approach operators directly from our network
- 03You receive comparable options with one accountable contact
No stacked commissions
The requirement is not passed sideways to other brokers who each need to earn on the same lift.
No cost on top for you
We are remunerated by the operator. Our involvement does not add a separate fee to your charter price.
Faster and cleaner information
Payload, dimensions, ready date and airport constraints reach the operator unchanged, instead of being relayed through several desks.
Real comparison, not one option
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
Broker, not operator
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.
Operator selection
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.
One accountable contact
The same person handles sourcing, contract, permits, handling and flight watch, so there is no handover gap between quote and arrival.
What we will not do
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.
Requirement enquiry
Send the requirement to the desk
Route, ready date and payload are enough for us to start checking operators.
Requirement data stays confidential; supplier identities and margins are never shared.
How to submit a requirement
How a requirement is handled.
You send the requirement straight to the desk — no account needed. We work it against operators immediately and come back with compared options.
- 01
Send the requirement
Route, ready date, weight, dimensions, commodity and handling notes — no account, a few minutes.
- 02
We check
Availability, payload and route permissions are checked directly with operators.
- 03
Receive options
Compared operator options with payload, slots, handling and timeline — one accountable contact.
- 04
Account (optional)
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
- 01PC-12 and Learjet freighters for small urgent consignments
- 02ATR 72F and B737-800BCF for regional recovery flights
- 03B757-200PF and B767-300F for heavier line-down loads
- 04B777F and An-124 where a complete unit must move at once
Availability is subject to route, payload, permits and operator acceptance.
Capacity structures
Four ways to buy the capacity
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.
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01
Full charter
One shipment fills a deck, or timing and commodity rule out sharing
You control the schedule, the loading plan and the routing.
02
Part charter
Volume fills part of a deck and the ready date tolerates consolidation
Cost is shared across shippers inside one build-up window.
03
Blocked space
Recurring volume on a lane that already has a rotation
A fixed allocation per flight, committed for a defined period.
04
ACMI / wet lease
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
What we coordinate besides the aircraft
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.
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Customs and documentation
Export and import entries, transit procedures, temporary export for repair, preferential origin papers and the broker interface at both ends.
ULD build-up and packing advice
Pallet and container build-up, load spreading, lashing plans and guidance where packaging would fail an operator acceptance check.
Trucking and last mile
Pre-carriage, on-carriage, air-ride equipment where needed, low-loaders and permitted road routes for outsize crates.
Permits and slots
Overflight, landing and cabotage permits, airport slots, night curfew handling and diplomatic clearances where they apply.
Temperature and monitoring
Cool storage, active or passive units, cool dollies, data loggers and shock or tilt indicators read at each handover.
Supervision and escorts
Loading supervision, attendants for live cargo, security escorts and sealed handovers for high-value consignments.
Emergency charter background
How the clock is actually spent
In an urgent charter, flight time is rarely the bottleneck. Crew duty limits, airport opening hours, customs clearance, permit issuing offices and the availability of handling equipment usually decide the departure slot.
We plan against those constraints from the first minute, which is why we ask for airports, cargo dimensions and the exact ready time before discussing price.
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What we need from you to move fastest
Pick-up address or origin airport, destination, gross weight, the largest piece dimensions, the commodity and whether the cargo is dangerous goods. With that, aircraft options can be checked within the hour.
For repeat emergency exposure, a pre-agreed framework with your details, commodity profile and approvals on file removes an hour or more from every future activation.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Answers from daily desk work: payload, ready date, permits and cost drivers.
See all questionsWhere an aircraft and crew are already at a suitable airport, departure within a few hours is achievable. Permits, customs and duty limits are the usual constraints, not aircraft availability alone.
Yes, subject to airport opening hours, noise restrictions and crew duty. Night departures are often the fastest option because slots are freer.
Yes. Road feeder legs to the departure airport and from the arrival airport are coordinated as one plan with the flight.
Pricing follows aircraft size, distance, positioning and airport charges. Our cost page explains the drivers and gives indicative bands before you request options.
Yes, provided the classification is known. Operator acceptance and packing documentation are checked before departure; unclear classification is the main cause of delay.
Talk to the desk
Urgent? Call the desk directly.
AOG and time-critical requirements can be raised by phone or email at any time — no account required.
- Phone
- +49 172 6111193
- Availability
- 24/7 for AOG and time-critical
- First response
- Usually within 60 minutes
Keep reading
Related services
Knowledge
- What is a cargo charter?How ad-hoc, full, part and series cargo charter work: pricing drivers, lead times, documen
- What is ACMI / wet lease?ACMI, wet lease, damp and dry lease compared: cost split, guaranteed block hours, regulato
- Cargo charter quote requirementsWhat a charter desk needs to price a freighter: route, ready date, weights, dimensions per
- Cargo charter cost driversCost guide
- How a cargo charter booking worksProcess guide
- Overflight and landing permits for cargo chartersCompliance guide
- Outsize and heavy air cargoLoading guide
- Temperature controlled air freightCool chain guide
Move the next mission
Send the requirement and the desk will come back with sourced options, or call now if it is time-critical.
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