Guide · AOG & Time-Critical · 24/7
A practical guide to urgent and time-critical air freight, written for ops, supply chain and fleet engineering teams who need to decide between scheduled, expedited and full charter, fast.
Already have an RFQ prepared? Email charters@aviall.com.au
Most urgent freight decisions are made under time pressure with incomplete information. This guide is built to compress that decision: a clear test for when scheduled freight will not work, a quick-reference aircraft selector, an honest pricing framework, and a realistic wheels-up window for each aircraft tier. The aim is fewer wrong calls, faster recovery and lower total downtime cost, not the lowest line-item freight rate.
Aircraft and clinical or operational selection drives airport selection across the network.
Urgent air freight is the right answer when downtime cost outweighs charter cost, when scheduled capacity is unavailable or unreliable, when the shipment will not move on a passenger lower-deck (size, DG, security), or when a single accountable owner is required across customs, ground handling and inland transport.
Related pages for programme planning:
When charter is the right answer vs scheduled or expedited freight.
Right aircraft tier against payload, dimensions, route and runway.
Indicative brackets by aircraft tier so you can budget against the right aircraft.
Realistic timing for each aircraft tier and route profile.
When DG cargo forces charter and what to expect on cost and timing.
Single owner across permits, handling, customs and inland transport.
Urgent charter? Our ops desk is staffed 24/7.
Aircraft options within the hour and a written quote with an indicative wheels-up window.
Mission examples · Illustrative
Representative mission profiles drawn from recurring work. Identifying details, operators, hospitals, routes, aircraft tail numbers, are intentionally omitted.
An ASX-listed resources operator faced a stalled processing line waiting on a single oversized component too large for any scheduled freighter. Aviall sourced an outsize main-deck nose-loader, completed pavement and load-spread checks at the regional destination, and coordinated road movement permits at both ends.
Outcome
Component on site inside 72 hours of first call; production line restart same week.
A major carrier had a wide-body grounded at a foreign hub, awaiting a replacement engine sitting in a domestic MRO. Aviall positioned a freighter to the MRO, coordinated dangerous goods documentation for the engine and stand, and held a flight-following bridge with the airline's tech ops cell door-to-door.
Outcome
Engine wheels-up inside 14 hours of release; aircraft returned to service the next operational day.
A global health programme required a high-value biologics consignment moved on a controlled cool-chain into the Asia-Pacific without consolidation risk. Aviall chartered a freighter dedicated to the shipment, with active containers, written ramp-time targets, and continuous data-logger oversight.
Outcome
Zero temperature excursions; chain-of-custody documentation closed within 24 hours of landing.
A government end user needed a Class 1 consignment moved on a tight window after scheduled carriers declined the booking. Aviall identified an operator approved for the class, completed the DG paperwork, NOTOC and security plan, and ran a single-shipper rotation under a controlled handling regime.
Outcome
Movement completed inside the customer's window with full regulatory close-out.
Following a sudden-onset disaster in the wider region, an aid consortium needed shelter, water and medical kit moved on consecutive days into a damaged airfield with reduced services. Aviall built a rotation plan around aircraft suited to the strip and pre-positioned ground handling support.
Outcome
Sustained airlift maintained across consecutive days without diversion.
A premium agri-export business required a single-shipper rotation during a tight harvest window when scheduled belly capacity was full. Aviall chartered a freighter sized to the volume and held a slot pattern at the destination customs gateway across the season.
Outcome
Full season's volume cleared without missed shelf dates at the destination market.
Specialised capability
FAQ
When downtime cost outweighs charter cost, when scheduled capacity is unavailable or unreliable, when the shipment will not move on a passenger lower-deck due to size, DG or security, or when a single accountable owner is required across customs, handling and inland transport.
Keep exploring
Why operators, brokers and end clients keep calling back
"Quote came back inside the hour with two aircraft options, written wheels-up windows and the cost-versus-time trade-off laid out. That is what we expect and rarely get."
, Project logistics manager · Resources sector
"Documentation, NOTOCs and DG paperwork were closed before we'd finished briefing our customer. No back-and-forth, no surprises at the ramp."
, Senior freight forwarder · Global 3PL
"They run the mission like an operator, not like a broker. That distinction matters when the cargo is heavy, the route is hard and the clock is real."
, Charter broker · International network
Tell us the shipment, payload, dimensions, origin, destination, ready time, DG status. Freighter options returned within the hour.
Send us origin, destination, payload and ready date. We return aircraft options. Attach an existing RFQ, packing list or photos straight from your phone, partial detail is enough to start.
Or email your RFQ directly to charters@aviall.com.au
24/7 ops desk. Quote inside the hour.