Air Charter Service said it has recorded its busiest ever quarter for its cargo division, with 1,445 cargo charters in the period August to October.

It said this, combined with its other divisions,  resulted in the highest ever  revenue  for the company in one quarter –  a total of  £321.1 million (US$430 million).  
  
"Over the past three months we have had the busiest period in our history.  On average the cargo division had one charter departing every 90 minutes over the course of each month," said Dan Morgan-Evans,  Group Cargo Director at ACS.
  
"Manufacturers and retailers who have historically relied on shipping to move the bulk of their orders  are now  considering  charters  as the only solution  to hit impending deadlines and, in particular, Christmas. The bulk of air cargo is traditionally carried in the belly of scheduled passenger airliners, but that network will not be up to its full capacity for some time yet, and now is the time to turn to charter," Morgan-Evans added.

ACS also noted having some large humanitarian projects in the period, flying in shelter kits from the UK government and aid from other nations to Haiti following the devastating earthquake in the country.

  
"The incredible  increase in revenue  was, of course, in part due to the current supply chain crisis. Firstly, revenues have been increased due to  demand becoming  more long haul, on larger aircraft which, naturally, are more expensive. The majority of this demand has been from Asia, which has seen an especially significant reduction in belly capacity due to travel restrictions in the region, meaning charter options have also been extremely limited. Our speciality in finding these solutions, along with our strong presence in Asia, has meant that we have been able to find solutions that others simply haven't," said Chris Leach, ACS Founder & Chairman.

High charter rates

ACS also noted that on top of this, the aircraft charter provider have seen some of the highest charter  prices the industry has ever experienced –  as availability is currently so scarce that airlines’ rates have had to increase dramatically as the aircraft are positioning for the flights from further away, thus increasing the operating costs.

Just last month we paid two million dollars for a trans-Pacific flight for the first time – it was  on a Boeing B777, a flight that would normally cost less than 750,000 dollars, Leach said.
  
“This period of disruption has lasted much longer than we, and everyone else, first forecast and it is currently showing no signs of slowing down. Our total revenue for this past quarter was more than our turnover was for the whole of 2015!” the ACS chief added.