Air Freight service saves the day
An Air Freight service has saved the day in Pakistan where the urgent transportation of two large track rollers from Frankfurt Hahn to Islamabad were successfully transported on time and at a welcome saving on the anticipated cost. The more leisurely option of ocean freight was rejected from the equation after the major cement manufacturing plant was threatened with closure.
The capital city of Islamabad is renowned for being the fastest growing urban region in Pakistan and one of only a handful of places where construction can currently be called a ‘boom’ industry.
The track rollers, which each weighed 38 tonnes and measured 6m by 2.4m by 2.9m on their specially-constructed cradles, were required the most urgently. Due to the time-critical nature of the consignment, an Air Freight service was the only solution in question.
The operation was performed, from the initial enquiry, through inspection of the cargo, quotation, commissioning of the custom-built cradles, confirmation of flight, arrangements for loading, and delivery to the aircraft in just four working days.
Originally, it was thought that the size and weight of the two pieces would require charting the large An-124 aircraft which would have been very expensive.
However, the operator created a plan which enabled the use of two consecutive rotations of the smaller and less costly IL76 aircraft, therefore substantially reducing costs for the shipper.
In addition, in order to cut costs and reduce transit time the aircraft routed via Baku for refuelling and crew changes with an Azerbaijani based operator providing extra crews so that mandatory rest requirements were fulfilled and would not cause delays and total transit times would be reduced.
The complete operation, from loading in Germany to successful unloading in Pakistan and transfer onto express road transport vehicles, was personally supervised by senior staff, who also accompanied all flights.
A senior figure said,
“This was a very demanding charter due to its extreme urgency, and the special equipment needed both for loading and transportation. The loads were a tight fit and, more critically, were just seven tonnes below the maximum payload of the aircraft. Everything went to plan, and the plant was able to continue production without any costly delay. Just as importantly, by carefully assessing all the options, we provided a solution that met the tight deadline while offering the customer a very significant saving over the more obvious alternative.”
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