Freighter Charter Australia: Which Aircraft Does Your Cargo Need?

Shippers usually open a charter enquiry with a tonnage. Tonnage alone almost never decides the aircraft. Three questions do, in this order.

First, loadability: what are the dimensions of the largest single piece? A piece that will not turn through a side cargo door needs a nose-loading 747F; one that cannot fit a main deck at all needs outsize capacity. This question overrides everything else, because an aircraft that cannot accept the cargo is not an option at any price.

Second, volume versus weight: is the cargo dense or bulky? Bulky freight fills the deck before the weight limit, and dense freight does the opposite. Two consignments of identical tonnage can require different aircraft entirely.

Third, sector length: how far, and can it be flown non-stop at your payload? Long sectors force a payload trade or a technical stop, and that trade sometimes makes a larger aircraft the cheaper total answer.

• Largest single piece dimensions, decides loading method, and therefore aircraft family
• Total weight and total cube, decides size within that family
• Sector length and departure airport limits, decides payload trade and stops
• Deadline, decides whether a cheaper, slower option is even on the table

These are the types most commonly available for charter into and out of Australia. Payload figures are approximate maximum structural payloads; the usable figure on any specific charter is always lower once fuel, sector length and airport performance limits are applied.

• 737F / ATR 72F, roughly 10–20 tonnes, regional and domestic work, small airports, fast turnarounds
• 767F, roughly 50 tonnes, palletised mid-haul, a good step between narrowbody and large widebody
• A330F, approximately 70 tonnes, strong APAC and trans-Tasman economics
• 777F, approximately 102 tonnes, efficient long-haul workhorse for high-value palletised cargo
• 747-400F / 747-8F, approximately 102 to 135 tonnes with nose-door loading for long pieces
• AN-124 class, approximately 120 tonnes with ramp loading for genuinely outsize cargo

Charter is not only "the whole aircraft". Three commercial structures exist, and choosing the right one is often worth more than choosing the right airframe.

Full charter gives you the entire aircraft, complete control of loading sequence and timing, and no consolidation with unknown freight. It is the right answer for a full tranche, an outsize piece, or cargo whose security or chain of custody cannot be shared.

Part charter, a defined portion of a dedicated freighter's capacity, is frequently the difference between a charter being affordable and being dismissed. If your consignment does not fill an aircraft but still needs controlled, non-scheduled movement, ask about it explicitly.

Programme capacity plans a series of rotations across a project phase rather than pricing each flight under pressure. Where an equipment pipeline is known, this normally delivers better rates and better availability than repeatedly buying spot capacity after a milestone is already at risk.

Freighter charter is priced from the aircraft's operating cost for the entire task, not per kilogram. The largest variables are often invisible in the cargo itself, which is why identical shipments can quote very differently on different dates.

• Positioning, where the nearest suitable aircraft is, and where it must go afterwards
• Aircraft size, a right-sized freighter almost always beats an oversized one
• Sector length, technical stops and any payload-for-fuel trade
• Airport costs, slots, curfews and out-of-hours handling at both ends
• Handling complexity, outsize loading, dangerous goods segregation, special equipment, extended ramp time
• Return load potential, which can reduce cost materially when the operator can fill the aircraft back

Gateway choice is a total-cost decision that includes the domestic leg. A cheaper international sector into one port is regularly consumed by a long road movement with special lifting requirements at the other end.

• Sydney (SYD), largest inbound volume; night curfew constrains late arrivals
• Melbourne (MEL) and Brisbane (BNE), curfew-free, strong handling depth, good for overnight clearance
• Perth (PER), the natural gateway for Western Australian and resources destinations
• Darwin (DRW), northern gateway for Asian sectors, technical stops and PNG connections
• Adelaide (ADL), Canberra (CBR), Townsville (TSV), Cairns (CNS), viable freighter destinations with advance coordination

You do not need to know which aircraft you want. That is our job, and getting it wrong is expensive for you. Send the cargo facts and let the cargo select the aircraft.

Already have an RFQ, packing list or dimension schedule? Paste or upload it (/submit-rfq?type=cargo) or email it to Charters@Aviall.com.au. Partial detail is enough to begin the availability search.

• Origin and destination airports, or nearest usable airports
• Total weight and total cube, or pallet count and pallet height
• Largest single piece dimensions and weight
• Readiness date and any fixed destination deadline
• Dangerous goods classification and documentation status
• Whether this is one movement or the first of several