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 When the owners of a $1.2 million yacht needed repairs it was down to Mike Bulzomi from ACS New York to get two mechanics and parts from Miami to the Bahamas where the yacht was docked. A Cessna 208 was used to take the mechanics and everything needed for the repairs down to the Bahamas. 

There was a tight time schedule that had to be met as the owners of the yacht could not afford to have their boat immobilized for much longer. Air Charter Service was able to find an aircraft in a perfect position, which enabled the mechanics to fix the yacht ahead of schedule ensuring that the owners of the yacht were able to get back on to their schedule, and return the mechanics home in time for dinner.   

Contact Mike Bulzomi: cargo@usa-aircharter.com

 When the demand for an aircraft outstrips its availability ACS understand that constant monitoring of the situation can be the only way to still achieve results. 

 This was the situation faced by the ACS team in New York when a client urgently required the use of the highly popular AN-124 cargo carrier to transport 60 tonnes of oil equipment the 7,000 miles between Houston, USA and Adana, Turkey.  When there was no immediate availability, Michael Guthenberg, a broker at ACS New York, began constantly checking every few hours for the next three weeks for an opening.  

On the afternoon of Thursday, 22nd May, Michael spotted a rare opportunity to contract the AN-124 and acted immediately.  It took the team just four hours to gain confirmation from their customer in the US and to organise with the office in Dubai for a party to oversee offloading of the cargo at its final destination in Turkey.  This had to be completed by Thursday night in the USA-despite the significant time difference in Dubai (eight hours ahead), in order to apply for traffic rights for the aircraft on the Friday morning.  With the ball firmly set in motion, the cargo was transported to Houston airport by Saturday morning where the AN-124 was already waiting to be loaded.  In total, it had taken the two teams less than 48 hours to orchestrate the transfer.

The customer said:                                                                                                                             “Whereas all other companies I approached just told me it simply would not be possible to transfer the cargo until June, ACS kept a vigilant look-out for my interests.  The result was that when a limited opportunity came up we were able to act quickly and therefore secure an earlier flight.  This level of attention to customer care meant ACS were able to offer me the highest level of service.”

Contact: Michael Guthenberg, New York based ACS broker and team at cargo@usa-aircharter.com 

When a longstanding client made an urgent request for the immediate transportation of oil refinery equipment, ACS responded with an innovative solution. 

The client, who with ACS’ help had previously chartered flights from destinations across the USA and UK, urgently needed to fly a small part from Houston Hobby in the USA to Port of Spain in Trinidad. 

The smallest freighter aircraft would take between eight and nine hours to deliver the time sensitive cargo, so the brokers at ACS suggested the use of an Astra SPX, a passenger aircraft, to dramatically cut the airtime.

Such a move is typical of ACS’s pro-active attitude towards finding new solutions and customer care. 

Ruan Courtney, Broker at ACS New York, commented:“Our client was very happy with the solution.  He said that it went very smoothly even given the short setup time.”

 The customer added: “but with ACS it always goes smoothly.”

The call was made at 1pm and the flight departed at 5pm that very same day.  The operation included a crew rest of the aircraft in Trinidad before returning to Houston with the damaged oil refinery part which was to be sent to the manufacturer.

Contact: Ruan Courtney, New York based ACS Broker and team at

cargo@usa-aircharter.com

Floods affecting nearly 25,000 families hit parts of Bolivia last month causing the country’s President Evo Morales to declare a state of emergency after weeks of heavy rain; this has been caused by the climatic phenomenon known as La Niña, and has devastated several parts of the country.

Air Charter Service (ACS) one of the leading operators in cargo and passenger air chartering, received an urgent call from a Spanish based relief agency to carry 10 tonnes of much needed water purification equipment, medical kits, tents, blankets and mosquito nets from Madrid Torrijon Airport on the 12th February 2008, just three days after the agency approached ACS.

The 70cbm cargo was expertly loaded into the AN-12 with only a 90cbm volume, resulting in the on site load master remarking how ‘our skills at Tetris have come in very handy today’.

Richard Thompson, Cargo Charter Analyst, ACS said:
“This is the fourth charter that we have successfully operated for this client and ACS’ dedicated broker relationships and the added bonus of the team being fluent in Spanish certainly helps put our customers’ minds at rest. Speaking the language also helped me to secure landing rights and permits with the minimum of delay.”

ACS works to assist governments, charities and aid agencies when ‘every minute counts’ in saving lives. Being very aware of the urgency required in these situations, as a minimum requirement many of the charter brokers at ACS are bi- or tri-lingual. They have supported relief efforts into countries including Algeria, Indonesia, Afghanistan, and Sudan and operated a variety of nearly 500 flights in the aftermath of the catastrophic tsunami which struck Thailand on December 26th 2004.

Contact Richard Thompson, Cargo Charter Analyst and team at london@aircharter.co.uk

Sometimes the strength of an organisation lies in its commitment to detail and its quality of foresight. This proved truer than usual when Air Charter Service were asked to carry two 31 tonne, four metre high transformers nearly 3,000 miles from the UK to Iran.

Securing a massive Antonov-124 Ruslan, ACS had to plan carefully to ensure that the load could be properly fitted and supported.

Ben Dinsdale, London based Cargo Charter Analyst, describes how, realising that the weight of the transformers was such that they would be too heavy to be supported during the flight on the original bases, “We organised a visit to the factory the week before the flight in order to advise how to spread the weight efficiently by altering the base for optimum loading onto the AN-124.”

Contact Ben Dinsdale, London based Cargo Charter Analyst and team london@aircharter.co.uk

Air Charter Service (ACS) one of the leading names in cargo and passenger air chartering, arranged for an Antonov-12 to carry seven tonnes of urgently needed relief cargo from Spain to Mexico and South America in the aftermath of Hurricane Noel which left widespread flooding and mudslides.

Richard Thompson, Cargo Charter Analyst at ACS confirmed the flight on the evening of Friday 2nd November for a 4th November departure. The flight was for the Spanish Government so using his fluent Spanish, Richard was able to negotiate the permits for each country, not an inconsiderable task due to the long duration of the flight and the two drop stops in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The AN-12 carried seven tonnes of medical kits, two water purifying plants, blankets and jerry cans to the effected regions.

Richard Thompson, Cargo Charter Analyst, ACS said:
“The challenge with this flight was the route – the 26 hour flight stopped in two different countries on the way and with only 24 hours notice we had to work hard to finalise everything.”

ACS is called in to assist governments, charities and aid agencies when ‘every minute counts’ in saving lives. Being very aware of the urgency required in these situations, as a minimum requirement many of the charter brokers at ACS are bi- or tri-lingual. They have supported relief efforts into countries including Algeria, Indonesia, Afghanistan, and Sudan and operated a variety of nearly 500 flights in the aftermath of the catastrophic tsunami which struck Thailand on December 26th 2004.

Contact Richard Thompson, Cargo Charter Analyst and team at london@aircharter.co.uk

Enormous ocean freighters are generally the preferred mode of transport when carrying 200 tonnes of oil drilling equipment from the UK out to the Middle East. However, when the production of 15 massive ‘Christmas tree’, component parts of oil drilling equipment required by an Egyptian oil development was delayed back in November the shippers involved turned to Air Charter Service (ACS) who chartered two mighty AN-124 aircraft.

ACS’ key qualities as an international organization with a high level of professionalism on the ground were vital. The difficulties the Houston-based shipper had in arranging transport from the UK to Egypt were overcome by the smooth and easy interactions of ACS’ New York and East Midlands offices.

However it was the skills of ACS employees on site which proved critical. Ruan Courtney, President and Charter Sales Manager ACS New York, emphasised the importance of the “experience of Ralph Cutting our EMA based Operations Manager, in ensuring that any problems the shipper experienced prior to loading – such as the cargo not being able to fit through the airport gates! - were dealt with efficiently and well in advance of the flight.”

Yet another example of ACS’ ability to offer quick and effective logistics solutions to their customers.

Contact: Ruan Courtney, President and Charter Sales Manager ACS New York and team cargo@aircharterserviceusa.com