- Full charter
- One price for the whole aircraft
- Volumetric weight
- 1 kg per 6,000 cm³ (IATA convention)
- Chargeable weight
- Actual or volumetric weight, whichever is higher
- Key cost driver
- Where the right aircraft is, and where it goes next
Last reviewed
Per flight or per kilo
Scheduled air freight, carried in airline bellies or on scheduled freighters, is sold by the kilo of chargeable weight. A full cargo charter is different: you hire the whole aircraft for the trip, so the price is per flight. Whether you fill the aircraft or carry a single item, the aircraft cost is the same.
That makes charter good value when the shipment is large, outsized, urgent or going somewhere the scheduled network does not reach, and poor value when a few pallets would fit on a scheduled flight with time to spare. Dividing a charter price by the weight carried is still a useful check against scheduled rates, as long as you compare like with like.
Chargeable weight and volumetric weight
Aircraft run out of space as well as payload, so air freight is charged on whichever is greater: the actual gross weight or the volumetric (volume) weight. Under the IATA convention, volumetric weight is calculated at 6,000 cubic centimetres per kilogram: multiply length by width by height in centimetres and divide by 6,000.
For example, a crate of 120 cm by 100 cm by 80 cm has a volume of 960,000 cm³, which gives a volumetric weight of 160 kg. If it actually weighs 100 kg, the chargeable weight is 160 kg; if it weighs 300 kg, the chargeable weight is 300 kg. On a full charter this calculation tells you which aircraft the load needs: light, bulky cargo fills the hold before it reaches the payload limit, while dense cargo does the opposite.
What goes into a charter price
Each element below can move the price, and a good quote makes clear which are included.
| Cost element | What drives it |
|---|---|
| Aircraft size and payload | The smallest aircraft that fits the heaviest and largest pieces and the total load; bigger aircraft cost more per hour |
| Positioning | How far the nearest suitable aircraft must fly to reach the origin, and whether it has work after delivery or returns empty |
| Fuel | Distance, aircraft type and fuel prices at the time of the flight |
| Handling | Loading and unloading, special equipment for heavy or outsized pieces, and airport handling charges at each end |
| Airport, navigation and permit costs | Landing and parking fees, overflight charges, and landing or overflight permits where required |
| Dangerous goods | Whether the operator is approved to carry the goods, plus the extra documentation and handling |
| Insurance | The aircraft operator's liability cover is part of the charter; insurance of the cargo's value is usually arranged separately |
Positioning: the biggest variable
Freighters are not spread evenly around the world. If the right aircraft is several hours away, that positioning time is part of your price, and if it has no onward work from the destination, the return may be too. The same load on the same route can cost very different amounts from one week to the next for this reason alone. Flexibility on dates, or on the departure airport, gives more aircraft a chance to fit.
Dangerous goods
Batteries, chemicals, fuels, gases and many other items are classed as dangerous goods for air transport. They must be classified, packed, marked, labelled and documented under the applicable rules, which in practice means the ICAO Technical Instructions and the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR), updated each year, and carried only by operators approved to carry them. Some items are forbidden on passenger aircraft but allowed on cargo aircraft, and some cannot be flown at all. Declaring them at the enquiry stage avoids a quote for an aircraft that cannot take the load, and avoids delays at the airport.
Part charter or full charter
A full charter gives you the whole aircraft and its schedule. A part charter shares the aircraft with other shippers on a common route, which can lower the cost but means fitting a schedule set around the aircraft as a whole. Part charter depends on other loads being available on the same route at the same time, so it is not always an option.
Comparing cargo charter quotes
Quotes for the same job can look far apart simply because they include different things. Before comparing totals, check that each one covers the same aircraft type and payload, the same positioning assumption, handling at both ends, permits and airport charges, and any dangerous goods surcharges. A low headline price that leaves out handling or permits is not a saving.
Check, too, what happens if the cargo is not ready on time. Aircraft and crew are committed to a schedule, and waiting time or a missed slot can carry a charge. A realistic ready time, agreed with whoever is packing and delivering the load, protects the price as much as anything in the quote.
What we need to quote
To give a fixed price for the aircraft, the handling and the fees, we need the following.
- Dimensions and weight of each piece, including the largest and heaviest single item.
- Total weight and volume.
- Nature of the cargo, and whether any of it is dangerous goods.
- Origin and destination, including any constraints at either airport.
- The deadline, and how much flexibility there is around it.