We know a grounded aircraft costs your business dearly every minute it’s inoperable. Our award-winning cargo team specialises in arranging AOG charters to quickly get things moving again, minimising disruption with efficient solutions you can rely on. 
Our AOG services – getting aircraft, passengers and cargo back in the air
A grounded aircraft costs a business dearly every minute it’s inoperable. Whether it’s a freighter with a faulty engine or a commercial plane that needs new tyres, Air Charter Service’s award-winning cargo division specialises in arranging AOG (aircraft on ground) charters to quickly get things moving again.
“Customers inquiring about AOG services usually need a rapid solution,” says our Group Cargo Director, Dan Morgan-Evans (pictured below). “From urgent charters carrying spare parts to flying in engineers to fix the problem, with over 30 years of industry experience we have the expertise and contacts to quickly fulfil a range of client needs.”
Even the most meticulously planned AOG solutions can be affected by external problems and last-minute changes that are outside our control, and this is where our expert knowledge and attention to detail really come to the fore. We’ve collated some of our most complex AOG charters to demonstrate how we overcome these obstacles to get our customers’ aircraft, cargo and passengers back in the air.
Arranging last-minute cargo screening
On a weekend in December 2021, a freight forwarder asked us to help fly a replacement engine from England to a grounded commercial aircraft awaiting repair in Tenerife.
Sourcing the Antonov 12 that could carry the large engine was relatively simple for our team, but after learning the cargo couldn’t be screened at airports in Birmingham, Manchester or the East Midlands, we needed to find an alternative solution fast!
We quickly arranged for screening to be carried out at London Heathrow before using a registered haulier to transport the aircraft engine to Birmingham Airport, where a team was waiting on the ground to load it ready for departure the next morning. We also arranged airside access, so the client could oversee the cargo being loaded and monitor the charter.
Arranging a wet lease and a cargo charter for one client
A leading global low-cost airline got in touch to arrange an urgent wet lease solution, which was needed to cover a transatlantic route after an aircraft went tech with an engine failure in Reykjavík. They also needed a replacement engine flown in for the stricken aircraft.
The client needed the quickest and most cost-effective solution, so we narrowed the search radius for a lease aircraft to save time and money. We capitalised on our close relationship with a Boeing 747 operator to quickly negotiate a lease agreement and position the backup aircraft within a day. Our cargo team then transported the replacement engine so the aircraft could return to its regular service as soon as possible.
Thanks to our wide range of AOG solutions, rapid response and 24-hour cover, the client was able to continue offering a seamless passenger service, avoid a compensation bill and quickly repair their grounded aircraft.
Handling a last-minute schedule change
A freight forwarder needed a quick solution to get an aerospace manufacturer’s grounded aircraft back in the air. The spare part in France needed to be repaired in Germany en route to the plane in China, resulting in a complex itinerary with strict timings. Less than two hours after getting the go-ahead, the cargo was ready to be flown on the first leg of its journey from Le Havre to Frankfurt – but a last-minute schedule change disrupted our plans.
To get the part on the move as quickly as possible, one of our onboard couriers (OBC) accompanied it by road from Le Havre to Hamburg, before loading it onto a scheduled flight to Frankfurt to be repaired. Once the part had been fixed, the OBC flew with it to China via South Korea, dealing with all the customs arrangements along the way.
Despite the late change to the schedule, within 24 hours our courier had picked up the part, set off across four countries and delivered it on time to be fitted to the aircraft.
Sourcing a passenger aircraft within hours
Not all of our AOG briefs are cargo-based. In 2021, a low-cost carrier asked us to help them lease an aircraft for five days to cover a grounded passenger plane that had been struck by a flock of birds.
With just three hours' notice to prevent delays to the airline’s schedule, our specialist team worked late into the night to source a Boeing 737-800, which was located near the operator’s base and could be ready to position fully crewed within 90 minutes.
When the overwhelmed client also asked us to arrange the crew’s hotel accommodation and air travel, our dedicated travel department quickly confirmed bookings and transfers, relieving the strain on their operations team and leaving them extremely satisfied with our overall service recovery.
When a cargo charter isn’t the quickest solution
When a Boeing 767 burst two nose gear tyres during a heavy landing in stormy conditions in Mauritius, the major European airline chartering it needed to get it airborne again ASAP.
With the replacement tyres needed in double-quick time, a conventional cargo charter wasn’t going to cut it. Instead, our Dubai office worked with the client’s dedicated account manager in London to source an executive jet that could be deployed quickly to fly in the parts.
Having an office in Johannesburg was paramount to the charter going without a hitch, as our South African team leveraged their close relationship with the Mauritian Civil Aviation Authority to secure the necessary permits within a matter of hours.
As a result of our global network and expertise, the aircraft tyres were handed over to local engineers in Mauritius just 12 hours after receiving confirmation from the customer.
Click here or call our team 24/7 to learn more about our AOG solutions.