HLPFI reviews the shortlisted entries for the 2023 Airfreight Solution of the Year, sponsored by Blue Water Shipping.
This award will be presented for an outstanding project cargo shipment that has been executed by air in the last 12 months. This category can be entered by an airline, operator, forwarder, or as a combined entry from partners on a specific project.
Our 2023 shortlist includes:
Air Canada Cargo
Air Canada Cargo became the star of the show when its cargo engineering and procedures teams designed a way to transport a 44 ft (13.4 m) IMAX screen from Toronto to Quito for the premiere of the latest Avatar film. The challenging project had already been declined by other carriers when Air Canada Cargo stepped in to lift and load the screen at a specific angle through the main deck door of its Boeing 767-300ER freighter.
Blue Bell Shipping
Blue Bell Shipping impressed with its time-critical project, handling cargo from Canada to Erbil in Iraq. Last-minute equipment changes from the original airline meant some of the out-of-gauge cargo could no longer fly on its intended aircraft. This is when Blue Bell stepped in to arrange a solution with three hours’ notice: truck drivers worked in shifts to ensure 24/7 road freight to Chicago while the team arranged a part charter flight to Dubai. While the cargo was in the air, Blue Bell worked tirelessly to reduce the risk of clearance/handling delays. From there, on a dedicated chartered B737F, the cargo was delivered to Erbil.
Chapman Freeborn
Chapman Freeborn was commended by our judges for its work chartering over 45 freighter flights to deliver humanitarian aid to Türkiye and Syria following two earthquakes in February 2023. The charter broker transported supplies and emergency response teams from multiple countries, partnering with UN entities and NGOs including Médecins Sans Frontières and USAID. The charter broker’s experience and longstanding relationships with operators and airlines enabled it to find capacities and navigate challenges, including civil war and closed borders, to ensure the safe and timely delivery of aid.
deugro
Also earning its spot on this year’s shortlist is deugro. To minimise extremely costly downtime at a US-based facility deugro USA, deugro Air Chartering and deugro Thailand successfully delivered 37 pipe spools from Thailand. Nine charter flights were performed to transport the urgent components with a total volume of 1,628 cu m. All the urgent components were delivered safely, as quickly as possible and on budget, bringing costly downtime to an absolute minimum.
Fracht Group
When an energy customer contacted the Fracht Group for the urgent delivery of a highly dense compressor with a strict deadline, the team was challenged with seeking the most appropriate heavy lift service by air from Germany to Brazil – a project with added complexity due to the limited aircraft options available because of the Russian-Ukraine war. With the aircraft sourced, Fracht then had to overcome a challenging discharging operation with SPMTs to meet the requirements of the airline. The cargo was then transhipped onto conventional trailers for delivery.
Rolf Riedl, Antonov Airlines and Kita Logistics
Completing the shortlist this year is Rolf Riedl, Antonov Airlines and Kita Logistics. The companies cooperated to perform the challenging transport of a power supply skid from the factory in Türkiye via Tekirdag and Hamburg airports to Brunsbüttel in Germany, where it was used as power distribution center at an LNG terminal. Within four hours, the pre-carriage transport, airport handling in Türkiye and on-carriage in Germany had been prepared to help the customer keep to its timeline.
The winner of this year’s Airfreight Solution of the Year award will be announced at the Heavy Lift Awards 2023 ceremony on October 25 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London. To join the celebrations, book your space today.
