ACS sees spike in freighter charters, tight supply for aircraft

U.K.-based Air Charter Service (ACS) is responding to a surge in cargo charters on the heels of escalating Covid-19 travel restrictions and flight cancellations that have led to dramatic reductions in global bellyhold capacity. What began in late February as an uptick in requests for lift out of Asia has, in recent weeks, evolved to include requests from other markets suffering from the fallout in passenger flights. Aircraft available for charter are currently in such limited supply, that contracts need to be inked immediately, or else brokers risk losing the aircraft. “The aircraft, they are still available,” said Dan Morgan-Evans, Global Director Cargo at ACS. But as the number of aircraft available for charter dwindle, some cargo that may have otherwise flown may be priced out. For customers willing to pay, there are still options. “If it's just cargo that isn't going to pay, that isn't worth it, then obviously the aircraft at the right price is not there.” In the past two weeks, the majority of ACS’ cargo charter requests have been out of East Asia. After two months of nonproduction, supply chains in Europe and the Americas were left with pent-up demand and a deficit of air cargo capacity due to passenger aviation lagging behind industrial production recovery. “So that's where the biggest spike has been as shippers have had to look to charter capacity,” said Morgan-Evans. As travel restrictions accelerated last week, and the scale of the pandemic grew, the types of charter requests too, have changed. “Our European offices have been booked quite a few trans-Atlantic charters, and they’re round-trip flights as well,” Morgan-Evans said. This wave of requests requires lift for commodities like face masks, medical equipment, mobile hospitals, and other products used to combat the disease. Sensing the looming capacity crunch, ACS commercial jets teams began collecting prices and payload capabilities for any aircraft that could carry cargo — including passenger aircraft. “I see it as a good way to offer solutions to our customers,” Morgan-Evans said of the use of passenger aircraft as freighters. With international passenger operations screeching to a halt, an increasing number of carriers are using aircraft in passenger configuration to carry nothing but cargo. This move, which started by Cathy Pacific and Singapore Airlines, now includes United Airlines, American Airlines, Air Canada and Lufthansa. As economic activity in slows in many parts of the world, Morgan-Evans expects charter requests out of Asia to slow. While time-sensitive part deliveries were needed to keep factories running in Europe and North America, many companies, including Boeing and a host of automotive manufacturers have temporarily idled production. While it’s difficult to predict just how lockdowns stemming the spread of this global pandemic will affect air cargo demand, belly capacity has been greatly reduced into at least the second quarter of this year, and requests for freighter charters is almost a given, according to Morgan-Evans. “With very little bellyhold capacity, which traditionally moves 40%-80% of the cargo on a given lane, there's still going to be a demand for charters, just perhaps not the really busy stuff we’re seeing now.”

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