NeWay Logistics is the air cargo charter sales and marketing agent for the DHL fleet in Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, aircrafts are based in Bahrain, West and South Africa.
We talked with Erwin Burger, General Manager of NeWay Logistics, about the the air cargo charter market and its global perspectives.
NeWay News: Mr. Burger, everybody talks about the air cargo charter market in impressive terms, but can you explain it to us in simple words?
Erwin Burger: Sure! So what is the air cargo charter market actually? First of all it means, that one customer anywhere in the world has a certain shipment or amount of cargo which needs to be flown from A to B within a certain time frame.
When scheduled operators are not able to perform the operation or move the entire cargo in the time frame requested by the customer, then the client will go out in the market and search for a dedicated or part charter flight.
Let’s be very clear: Contacting a Charter Broker is very often the last resource for the client, he needs to ship his cargo, but all scheduled channels are not working. He then needs our help as our services are ad hoc, quick and reliable.
The factors are time, routing and type of cargo:
1. Time frame: The transit times which are acceptable for the customer, sometimes avoiding contractual penalty fee clauses by shipping the cargo in-time.
2. Routing: Sometimes the origin or destination of the cargo is not part of the route network of any of the commercial carriers, so no aircraft is flying between point A and B. Then a chartered aircraft is needed to go there in order to perform the flight.
3. Type of cargo: Certain types of cargo cannot be transported by a commercial carrier, e.g. dangerous goods, military equipment, pharmaceuticals or out-sized and heavy weight cargo which is too big for the normal sized standard aircraft.
The time factor is especially important in Europe, Asia and America when it comes to certain clients, e.g. the automotive industry. The response time on average is between 30 and 60 minutes and this response time will decrease even further in the future.
NeWay News: It looks like that the air charter cargo market has changed a lot compared to 15 or 20 years ago.
Erwin Burger: Indeed it has. Some 15 or 20 years ago the air cargo charter market was only known to some charter brokers and some of the airlines. But it was not a real product on its own at that time. Then the product started to be developed. Everybody got more involved and the product ‘air cargo charter’ started to get its shape and the key players began to see it as a huge opportunity besides the usual point to point traffic.
To be successful today, an air cargo charter company needs a clear and global understanding of how the charter market works, where the aircraft are positioned and what type of aircraft is required for the specific request.
You need to choose the right aircraft for the job: Maybe a Boeing B747-8 or B747-400F or a 777F. Or it demands the use of the so-called ‘Russian work horses’, for example the Antonov 124 or the Ilyushin 76, which are designed and suited for out-sized and heavy weight cargo requirements.
In addition, an air cargo charter company needs to have very good relations with those airlines in order to receive competitive quotes quickly from them.
On time, 24/7, 365 days a year is a must, when it comes to receiving requests, respond to them, quoting the customer in an accurate and in a clear way, stating exactly what is and what is not included in the charter price. That is what the customer expects from us.
NeWay News: There seem to be special requests in the air charter cargo market in the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe?
Erwin Burger: Yes and this has to do with the region itself and the situation in many countries. Most of the regular cargo carriers cannot work in these kind of environments.
The Middle East and Africa are especially challenging, with regards to the political environment, the locations and the standards of many airports. Lots of activities are going on, for example relief and humanitarian projects, but also military missions.
Those types of operations are impossible to execute without cargo charter flights. The main hubs are Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and from there the air cargo charter flights go to countries like Afghanistan, Libya, Sudan etc. but since last year also to West African countries as a result of the Ebola crisis. These special destinations require charter flights and a flawless logistical planning.
As said, it is a challenging environment for any air cargo charter broker, but an interesting one if you know your business.
We from NeWay Logistics aim to play an important role in this market, bring the right air cargo charter solutions to our clients and help them move on with their projects and business.