Case study – Air charter: An automotive supplier based in northern France called Air Time Critical® on 28 November to have a pallet of car parts shipped from their supplier near Turin, Italy.
Customer challenge – Covering 1,000 km in 9 hours: The customer requested an urgent delivery at 11:00. The goods had to be delivered in France the same day before 23:59, but they would not be ready before 15:00 in Italy. This left less than 9 hours to cover the 1,000 km from Turin to the French consignee – an impossible deadline by road. Air charter – the chartering of a dedicated cargo plane and its crew – was the only possible option to avoid line stoppage for this French automotive supplier. Find out how this special operation was executed.
How much does line stoppage cost in the car industry?
On average, each minute of line stoppage cost €20,500 in 2022.
A February 2022 Forbes article indicated the average cost of one minute of line stoppage at €20,500, that’s €1,230,000 per hour!
In this case, delivering beyond the 23:59 deadline would have potentially stopped production. With road transport, the car parts were unlikely to be delivered before 03:00. So, a complete line stoppage of 3 hours would have generated a €3,600,000 dead loss for the factory.
A 3-hour line stoppage would have generated a €3,600,000 dead loss for the factory.
What ROI for air charter?
Any industrialist facing a force majeure situation can make huge savings by using air charter. This operation had an ROI of 200, meaning that the cost of the plane represented 1/200th of the cost of the potential line stoppage. Few decisions can boast such a high immediate ROI.
The cost of the plane represented 1/200th of the cost of the potential line stoppage. This was an easy decision.
Air charter from Italy to the Hauts-de-France
Details of the air charter solution
- Flight type: Cargo air charter (dedicated cargo plane)
- Service: Italy-France door-to-door delivery
- Goods: 1 pallet of car parts (45 kg)
- Flight route: Turin-Charleroi
See also: List of available airports in Northern France
Delivery sequence
- 28 November, 15:15 – Goods pickup by express van from the Italian supplier
- 28 November, 17:08 – Goods left Turin airport (TRN)
- 28 November, 18:58 – Plane landed at Charleroi airport (CRL), Belgium
- 28 November, 19:45 – Express taxi took the goods to the destination site
- 28 November, 20:45 – Goods received at the destination site.
Note : all given times are local times
Italy-France delivery time frame
- This urgent Italy-France door-to-door delivery was executed in 5.5 hours (Distance as the crow flies: 650 km)
- Average time saved compared to an express taxi: +/- 6 hours.
Air Time Critical®s added value
Extreme weather and immediate plan B
On the day of this urgent expedition, Europe was under a weather warning and visibility was very poor. The destination airport on the original flight plan was in thick fog and therefore unavailable for landing. Air Time Critical® quickly managed to find a diversion airport and submitted a new flight plan to the civil aviation authority, after advising the customer of the change. The express taxi had ample time to divert its itinerary to the new destination airport prior to the plane’s arrival. As the situation had been handled early and swiftly, the shipment only incurred a minimal delay.
Communication between parties
The various parties to the operation were kept informed via a single email chain – Italian supplier, consignee’s logistics and production team, prime contractor. Simultaneously, the decision-making customer received information by text, in line with their request. Air Time Critical® also contacted the receiving team at the destination site to make sure the goods could be unloaded quickly upon arrival. We provided the driver with a site map and specific instructions; we used a regional express taxi company familiar with the destination site; we sent the driver’s name and registration plate to the receiving team and the guard post before the taxi’s arrival. Communicating in this way made for more efficient handling at each stage and for smoother operations.
Keep our number handy for logistics emergencies!
In a critical logistics situation, wait no longer and contact Air Time Critical®:
- via our instant quote form
- by phone: +32 2 888 84 16 (EN/FR)
Note: The dates, timings, locations and names mentioned above may have been changed to preserve customer confidentiality.