Pierre Vanders, Group Director Cargo-Operations

The surge in Covid relief cargo flights has cooled down significantly, as shipments seems to be more planned. In previous weeks requirements were more sporadic and frequent, from China to anywhere in the world. Right now there seem to be sufficient capacity to serve most requirements of PPE shipments as more airlines have converted passenger to cargo aircraft by removing seats and placing cargo in the passenger decks. This shows especially with the carrier response time, which is now quicker as well as pricing has dropped and which reflects the status of the market. Right now, shipments are no longer ‘emergency flights’ but rather re-supply of Covid PPE Cargo, many of which are part-charter requirements.

South America is probably the last part of the world that still calls for a strong demand for Covid-19 cargo as the Virus in some South America countries has not yet reached its peak such as Colombia and Brazil. Chapman Freeborn is still performing flights however, on thinner routes with smaller aircraft such as the Airbus A320 and A321 operated by group companies such as Smartlynx and Avion Express and Klasjet offering between 90-130 cubic meters which proves to be cost effective and successful for the sustainment operations for hospitals and Governments. We do believe that requirements will drop further once boarders are re-opened and schedule passenger fights resume in the next few weeks.

About 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 specialises 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.