How FIFO Charter Works, From Requirement to Rotation

FIFO charter is a whole-aircraft arrangement where the aircraft flies your workforce, on your pattern, between the origin your crew lives in and the destination your project operates from. You are buying the aircraft and its crew for a rotation, not buying seats on someone else's timetable.

That distinction is the whole point. Scheduled capacity is built around commercial passenger demand, which is why it rarely lines up with a shift-change window, why it collapses during shutdown periods, and why it usually cannot serve a private aerodrome at all. A charter rotation is built backwards from the time your crew has to be on site.

Aviall Group arranges this capacity rather than operating the aircraft. Every movement is flown by an appropriately approved operator selected for the route, the aerodrome and the crew requirement, which means aircraft are matched to the roster instead of the roster being fitted around one fleet.

Almost every delay in getting a FIFO price comes from an incomplete requirement, so it is worth being blunt about what a charter desk needs. Eight inputs let us price a program properly, and most procurement teams already have all of them.

• Origin, the crew source airport, including any regional pickups
• Destination, the site aerodrome or nearest usable airport
• Passenger numbers, per rotation, including contractors and staff
• Frequency, how many rotations per week, fortnight or swing cycle
• Days and times, the days of operation and required departure and return windows
• Program duration, start date and how long the pattern runs
• Baggage, typical allowance plus any tooling, spares or freight travelling with the crew
• Start date, commencement, and whether it is firm or subject to a project gate

The first thing we confirm is the destination, because that decides what can be flown. Runway length and surface, width, pavement strength, approach aids, fire coverage, fuel availability, daylight limitations and the operator's approvals for that specific aerodrome all narrow the field. Some sites are turboprop-only regardless of how many people you need to move.

Only then does headcount enter the picture. Passenger numbers, baggage profile and sector length determine whether a turboprop, regional jet or narrowbody is the efficient answer, and whether one aircraft or two rotations is cheaper. Getting this order right avoids the common failure of pricing a jet into a strip that cannot take one.

• Turboprop (30-70 seats), short or unsealed strips, smaller specialist crews
• Regional jet (70-100 seats), mid-size rotations with useful hold capacity
• Narrowbody jet (100-189 seats), full swings, shutdown surges, longer sectors
• Widebody or multi-aircraft, large mobilisations and project starts

Charter is priced per aircraft rotation, not per seat, which is why the cost per person falls sharply as you fill the aircraft. A rotation price reflects flight time in both directions, positioning if the aircraft is not already at your origin, crew duty and any overnight, aerodrome and handling charges, fuel and applicable taxes.

For a recurring program we price the pattern rather than a single flight. A committed pattern lets an operator base the aircraft sensibly and plan crew rosters, which usually produces a materially better number than the same flights bought one at a time, and gives procurement a defensible figure for a budget submission or tender response.

Ad-hoc movements are quoted individually. They are more exposed to availability, positioning and short-notice crew duty, and during shutdown season that exposure is real. It is not a reason to avoid ad-hoc charter; it is a reason to tell us early when you can.

Once an aircraft and price are agreed, the paperwork depends on how you buy. Ad-hoc rotations run on a charter agreement per movement. Ongoing programs are typically documented as a contract charter arrangement covering the pattern, rates, capacity commitments, change and cancellation terms, and the operational interface.

Mobilisation is where programs succeed or fail. Before the first rotation we confirm the aerodrome arrangements, ground handling and security screening approach at both ends, manifest format and deadlines, check-in process, transfers to site, and the escalation path when something moves at 04:00.

• Written charter agreement or contract charter terms for the pattern
• Operator, aircraft type and approvals confirmed for your destination
• Manifest template, deadlines and change process agreed
• Check-in, screening and ground handling arrangements at both ends
• Named charter manager and a documented 24/7 escalation path

In steady state a FIFO program is a manifest and exception management exercise. Names change, crews are added, someone fails a fitness-for-work check, weather closes a strip, and a shutdown suddenly needs three extra rotations inside a fortnight. The value of a charter desk is in absorbing that without the program degrading.

We also expect the pattern to be reviewed. Utilisation, load factors, on-time performance against shift-change windows and cost per seat all move as the project moves, and the aircraft that suited mobilisation is often the wrong aircraft for steady-state operations.

• Manifest changes and no-show handling up to departure
• Additional rotations for shutdowns, turnarounds and project phases
• Disruption management: weather, serviceability, crew duty
• Periodic review of aircraft size, timing and cost per seat

A simple ad-hoc rotation between two sealed regional airports can often be arranged within a day, sometimes within hours where an aircraft is well positioned. A new recurring program into a constrained or private aerodrome takes longer, because operator approvals, aerodrome arrangements and crew planning are genuine work rather than paperwork.

Peak periods compress everything. Shutdown seasons and major project phases pull demand into narrow windows on the same routes at the same hours, so the earlier a pattern is shared the better the availability and the price. Where a date carries genuine risk, we will say so rather than quote optimistically.