This is a noteworthy biz model involving 4 parties: The world’s leading Charter Broker Chapman-Freeborn that has wet leased a Boeing 747-400F from ACMI capacity provider Air Atlanta Icelandic; forwarding agent Senator International utilizing the 747 freighter for transatlantic flights and general sales agent Globe Air Cargo who markets the rest capacity of the aircraft.
Senator International’s “Senator Air Bridge” has been kicked off successfully. On Saturday (5 Nov) one of Air Atlanta Icelandic’s fleet of B747-400F’s took off from Munich Airport heading towards
Greenville-Spartanburg (GSP) in South Carolina.
The freighter was filled to the roof with shipments consisting mostly of BMW parts and components destined to the carmaker’s Spartanburg located U.S. plant. The “Senator Air Bridge” dubbed
operation will be conducted on a long-term basis, two times a week, each Saturday and Wednesday, securing the constant stream of BMW goods between the company’s facilities in Germany and the U.S.
Additional biz for Hahn-based handler VG Cargo
The freighter operates on day 6 from Munich to Greenville and on day 7 back to Hahn where it remains available for charters until day 3, when it then again heads to Greenville and returns to
Munich on day 4.
At Hahn, local ground service provider VG Cargo handles both the U.S. imports and exports. For VG, it’s a much welcomed new business after lately having been hit very hard by deteriorating
freight volumes at the airport, leading to the axing of jobs.
While the freighter is temporarily parked at Hahn, broker Chapman-Freeborn comes into play. “From the aircraft’s arrival there until its next transatlantic mission ex Munich three days later, we
will market and utilize the freighter for ad-hoc charters,” states CEO Russi Batliwala.
Work-sharing model reduces commercial risks for each party involved
Asked about this rather unique or at least very specific biz model, Russi speaks of a real win-win situation for all parties involved, including GSA Globe Air Cargo whose role it is to market the
aircraft’s remaining capacities on behalf of Senator, both on the westbound and eastbound transatlantic flights. “The entire operation enables new market opportunities and reduces the commercial
risk for all involved,” notes Russi.
“We have in the past regularly wet leased a variety of different aircraft for specific projects, having in-house specialized flight operations and other aviation professionals is the key to being
able to do this successfully.”
In his final remark to CargoForwarder Global, Russi applauds the courage of mid-size firm Senator engaging in such a large project: “The confidence and determination of Senator CEO Tim Kirschbaum
and his entire team to bring this ambitious mission to successful fruition is admirable.” The manager went on to say: “My colleagues and I are determined to do everything possible to assist
Senator in ensuring the long term success of these flights.”
Heiner Siegmund
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