newstodate.aero

Mar 20, 2020 (newstodate): Following the announcement of the US travel ban on 26 European countries, the cargo industry has seen a sharp decrease in aircraft capacity from Europe to the United States.
   Commodities such as food items, pharmaceutical goods, medical supplies, consumer goods etc. that would have typically travelled as belly freight on passenger aircraft have now entered the ad-hoc cargo market, further tipping the balance of capacity/demand.  
   The capacity issue is exacerbated by the fact that many cargo aircraft are already dedicated to easing the current demand in Asia.
   One player fighting to find solutions in this environment is UK provider of aircraft charter brokering, Chapman Freeborn that became part of Lithuania's Avia Solutions  Group after the acquisition inked on June 14, 2019.
   Together with the new sister subsidiary Magma Aviation, Chapman Freeborn has secured nine weekly rotations on its in-house fleet of four Boeing 747 freighter aircraft from the EU to the US.
   Chapman Freeborn also benefits from the access to the Group's narrow-body capacity through Avia Solutions Group's  sister companies SmartLynx with 23 Airbus A320 Family aircraft, Avion Express operating 21 Airbus A320 Family aircraft, KlasJet with six Boeing 737 aircraft, and Bluebird Nordic acquired only on January 24, 2020, to become the Group's only provider of an all-freighter fleet comprising six Boeing 737-300/400F aircraft.
   -We have seen a surge in requests for cargo into the United States from across Europe. In fact, with the grounding of many passenger fleets, we have seen an increase in cargo demand across the board, says Kim Borgaard,  Chapman Freeborn Scandinavia General Manager.
   -Wherever possible, we are working with clients to consolidate cargo and sell capacity at an affordable rate. It is in times like these that Chapman Freeborn's global office is a huge benefit – we can transport smaller movements by utilizing capacity on booked part-charters, says Mr Borgaard.