Pierre Vanders, Group Director Cargo-Operations
“There have been reports in the industry that there is a surge in demand for cargo charters related to e-commerce, particularly from China. I wouldn’t say e-commerce is experiencing a surge in demand, but the effects of Covid-19 have slowed down production and manufacturing of e-commerce goods, and PPE was a priority earlier in the Covid-19 crisis. As manufacturing returns, e-commerce is coming back to life as a safe way to shop online, therefore increasing the demand.
The air cargo industry is experiencing a return to normal e-commerce lanes which is good news for the industry and an important factor in sustaining freighter operations. Outsize cargo requirements have come back to life with pricing and load-ability studies for projects which were put on hold during Covid-19, a sign that the industry will recover slowly.
The demand for carrying PPE shipments continue but have seemed to diminish for the so-called ‘passenger freighters’. The demand is still with us for some time despite that we’ve now passed the first wave of moving emergency supplies of PPE cargo. The increased numbers of carriers offering converted passenger to cargo conversions have increased drastically and diluted the pricing, which is good news for consumers. Because of the dilution, shipments now are more organized and clients have more time to plan/shop for the best rates on the market. We have still seen an interest in either large quantities of bulk PPE shipments as well as smaller quantities to very specific locations, to serve local regional governments, such as using smaller aircraft like the Airbus320/A321 operated by SmartLynx and Avion Express. These are capable of operating to smaller airports that do not necessarily have the equipment to handle large freighters.”
bout Chapman Freeborn:
The Chapman Freeborn group was established in the UK in 1973. The company has offices worldwide including North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. In the cargo market, Chapman Freeborn Airchartering specializes in the charter and lease of aircraft for a wide-ranging customer base, including freight forwarders, multinational corporations, governments, humanitarian agencies, and a host of industries around the globe. In addition to freight services, Chapman Freeborn offers specialist passenger services including private jet charters for executive travel and large aircraft for crew rotations and international group travel.
Chapman Freeborn is a family member of Avia Solutions Group, the largest aerospace business group from Central & Eastern Europe with 83 offices and production stations providing aviation services and solutions worldwide.