Our client, a major car manufacturer, leader in the French electric car field, contacted Air Time Critical® at 3pm. They wished to arrange an urgent shipment between two of their suppliers. The first one was a tier 2 car part manufacturer based near Pescara in Italy; the other had a factory in northern France.

The challenge? Production was due to start at 6am, but for this to happen, their tier 1 supplier needed to have time to assemble the parts and deliver them to the factory. This seemed impossible time-wise and neither supplier could suggest a viable transport solution…

Neither supplier could suggest a viable transport solution…

Urgent night air charter – The story

Meeting the 3am delivery goal…

To avoid stopping production, it was crucial to deliver before 3am in the Hauts-de-France region, or 12 hours after initial contact with the customer.

The suppliers suggested using an express taxi by road, but delivery couldn’t happen before 8 or 9am in the best scenario. There were indeed 1,400 km between Pescara and the consignee based in Saint-Quentin in the Hauts-de-France. Therefore, the customer decided to contact us to arrange an urgent cargo charter shipment (aircraft hire).

16 hours on the road vs. 6 hours in the air?

An air charter solution charters an aircraft for on-demand shipping. Its benefits are that the plane is placed where it is needed, at the required time, and it darts across the sky in a near straight line at 370 mph, all the way to its final destination.

Air Time Critical® checked available flights in the European sky and then suggested a Pescara-Vatry flight with an Eclipse 500 very light jet aircraft.

Delivery time was cut from 16 down to 6 hours by air!

Door-to-door delivery took 6 hours by air instead of 16 by road, including express pickup in Italy, loading at the airport, flight time and final delivery.

Delivery at 1.15am – Mission accomplished and customer satisfied

The customer put their trust in this attractive air freight solution and it turned out to be the right decision. They saved almost 10 hours compared to an express taxi on the road.

Delivery was completed at 1.15am, long before the agreed deadline of 3am. Production teams were able to assemble parts under excellent circumstances and production didn’t have to be stopped. The car parts arrived on the production lines well in time, providing ample slack time for reassurance.

Huge thanks to our customer, a renowned car manufacturer, who trusted us that night to safeguard their production with this bespoke flight between Pescara and the Hauts-de-France. Yet another successful door-to-door mission for Air Time Critical®.

Details of the cargo charter solution

• Flight type: urgent cargo charter
• Service: door-to-door delivery by air charter
• Goods: 10 boxes of 8 kg (car parts)
• Flight route: Pescara – Vatry
• Flight duration: 2 hours
• Aircraft: Eclipse 500

Sequence of operations

• 23 May, 19:30 – Car parts picked up near Pescara
• 23 May, 20:20 – Delivery at Pescara-Abruzzo airport (PSR)
• 23 May, 20:45 – Departure of the Eclipse 500 jet aircraft
• 23 May, 22:40 – Cargo charter arrives at Vatry airport (XCR)
• 23 May, 23:15 – Express taxi leaves Vatry airport
• 24 May, 01:15 – Confirmed delivery at the tier 1 car part manufacturer

What time frame for this priority delivery?

This night air charter from Italy to France was completed in less than 6 hours door to door (distance as the crow flies: almost 1,200 km).

Number of hours saved compared to truck transport: +/- 10 hours.

Air Time Critical®’s added value

• Door to door: Air Time Critical® proposed a comprehensive solution comprising the night air charter flight, express taxi pickup in Italy, and dedicated delivery in France. This meant less unloading and reloading, more control, and more peace of mind for the customer.
• Real-time tracking and data: Operations tracking begins from the initial contact with the Italian supplier, all the way through to delivery completion. The customer is informed, among other things, of pickup, take-off and landing by email and text. We liaise with the destination site in advance and provide the guardhouse with the express taxi’s licence plate and ETA.

Tracking is ATC®’s trademark. Customers trust that their shipment benefits from our full attention. They know they will be informed and will be able to inform, in real time, all their colleagues and agents involved in the delivery.

Contact ATC® for any logistics emergency

Hire an aircraft with Air Time Critical®, freight forwarder specialising in urgent air freight for French and European industrialists:

• 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.