FIFO Charter Cost in Australia: What Actually Drives the Number

A FIFO charter price is built around the aircraft flying a rotation: out to site and back, with the crew and time that requires. That cost is broadly fixed whether you put 60 people on a 70-seat aircraft or 40. This is the single most important thing to understand, because it means load factor, not negotiation, is the biggest lever on your cost per seat.

It also explains why aircraft selection matters more than most procurement processes assume. Flying a 100-seat jet for a 45-person crew is not a small inefficiency; it is roughly double the cost per person that a correctly sized aircraft would deliver on the same sector.

Operators build a rotation price from a consistent set of components. None of them are unusual, but each is worth understanding because each is a place where a schedule decision quietly changes the price.

• Flight time, both directions, on the actual sector rather than a straight-line estimate
• Positioning, moving the aircraft to your origin and away afterwards, if it is not already based there
• Crew duty, including overnight, standby and any second crew required by duty limits
• Aerodrome and handling, landing, parking, terminal or apron handling, security screening at both ends
• Fuel, including uplift cost differences at remote aerodromes
• Ground support, steps, GSE, de-icing where relevant, fire coverage arrangements at some sites
• Taxes and statutory charges applicable to the movement

Some cost levers are large and structural. Others are marginal. It is worth spending effort on the first group.

• Fill the aircraft, the largest single lever on cost per seat, by a wide margin
• Right-size the aircraft, match seats to the real manifest, not the maximum roster
• Commit to a pattern, a contracted program lets an operator base the aircraft and plan crew
• Avoid unnecessary positioning, origins where suitable aircraft are already based price better
• Keep the aircraft productive, back-to-back rotations beat an aircraft sitting on the ground
• Give lead time, short notice narrows the operator field and raises the price
• Be flexible on time where you can, though never at the cost of losing a shift

Equally, some requirements legitimately add cost. Knowing which ones lets you decide whether they are worth paying for rather than being surprised by them.

• Constrained or unsealed destinations that force a smaller, less efficient aircraft
• Departure windows that require crew overnight positioning the night before
• Peak shutdown periods where regional capacity is genuinely tight
• Heavy baggage, tooling or freight travelling with the crew, affecting payload
• Long ground waits at site where the aircraft cannot be used productively
• Very short lead times, especially outside business hours
• Single-leg movements where the aircraft returns empty

A committed program is the cheapest way to buy recurring capacity. When an operator knows the pattern, days, times, frequency, headcount and duration. It can base the aircraft appropriately, roster crew efficiently and price the aircraft's utilisation rather than pricing risk. Procurement gets a stable, defensible rate for a budget or tender.

Ad-hoc rotations price higher on average because each one is exposed to whatever is available on the day, including positioning and short-notice crew duty. That is not an argument against ad-hoc charter, which is exactly the right tool for shutdown surge and unplanned movements. It is an argument for telling the desk about a pattern as soon as one exists.

For projects with both, the usual answer is a contracted core pattern with ad-hoc capacity layered over it for peaks. It protects the base cost while keeping the ability to surge.

Mining procurement teams rarely need the lowest number; they need a number they can justify. That means a written price stating the aircraft type, seat count, rotation pattern, what is included, the baggage allowance, and the assumptions the price depends on, particularly positioning, aerodrome access and headcount.

We also make the comparison basis explicit. Comparing a per-rotation charter price against a per-seat scheduled fare without stating assumed load factor, shift-time value and site access is how charter business cases get lost for the wrong reasons.

• Aircraft type, seat count and operator category stated in writing
• Rotation pattern and program duration the price applies to
• Inclusions, exclusions and baggage allowance in kilograms
• Assumptions on positioning, aerodrome access and headcount
• Cost per rotation and indicative cost per seat at realistic load factors