Chartering Freighters: The views of Chapman Freeborn

OVER the last six months Chapman Freeborn has handled upwards of 50 per cent at all humanitarian aid flights — and a good percentage of militan peace keeping support work, reveals Shahe Otizounian, the charter broker’s L ondon-based business development manager.
The company achieved the lion’s share of the market by being “fiercely competitive against other good brokers” and by using all the strengths of its 50-plus offices employing more than 300 people around the world.
"We hubbed all enquiries through the London office so that we could keep track of exactly what was going on in the world, 24 hours a day,” says Ouzounian
“We needed to know the disbursement of appropriate aircraft, which carriers had the right insurance, ti at tic rights, fuel availability and the 101 other aspects which enable us to benefit our clients. To do this we draw on the skills and epenise of all our oft ice’s across the world,” he reports.
Chapman Freeborn’s success in this particular aspect of charter work is largek due to the considerable investment the company has made in setting up a chain of independently managed, but interlinked offices, Ouzounian points out.
“Each is a profit centre in its own right, developing its own areas of expertise and specialisat ion which it then shares freely with other parts of the group. This means our clients gain advantage from consistent value-added product across the board,” he says.
People come’ to a charter broker because they have something they want to move quickly. They want a competitive pnce usually trying more than one broker
— and finally they want someone to take care of everything from origin to destination. Because of our size and the huge amount of expertise we have spread throughout the group, we can do that.”
Within minutes of receiving an enquiry Chapman Freeborn stat f can get the
ball rolling and set up a log istics chain almost anywhere in the world.
Whether it is a VIP flight. relief work, dangerous goods. a rough field operation. perishabks, or AOG, all benefit from the same attention to detail, Ouzounian insists.
Nevertheless, life has been made somewhat more difficult for charter brokers by recent bureaucratic interference. To date, Chapman Freeborn has made good use of the 40-tonnes capacity lL-76 workhorse. However, the unpopularity of this Stage 2 freighter aircraft among El. bureaucrats has forced brokers to source other types of acceptable aircraft and there aren’t many others around.
In Europe, trucking to nonEuropean Union countries is an option being considered, hut sourcing airlift is increasingly ditticult.
For much of the work we have undertaken there is nothing to compare with the IL 76,” bemoans Ouzounian.

Humanftadan Reviewing the alternative aircraft options he says:
“There is effectively no Boeing 707 market. There are a few Stage 3 DC-8s and you can put some loads in a Hercules, hut there are only a few of those in Europe and a few more working solidly in Africa on humanitarian jobs. “The Shorts Belfast can be useful and the Airbus A300, DV-1 or B-747 have their place — but for the classic IL 76 loads of outsize pieces, vehicles, or getting relief goods into rough air strips there is nothing can touch the Russian workhorse,”
Like most industry people Ouzounian is unsure just how comprehensive is the’ Stage 2 ban for this aircraft. In his opinion, given the demand for humanitarian flights and the involvement of governments, some lL-76 charters may still be allowed into certain European air ports. But which ones seems to depend on the whim of bureaucrats. craft for general freight movements is, however, a definite no-no.
Colleague. Quintin Cutler, managing director of Chapman Freeborn’s Pans office, echoes his views, reporting that in early April the French authorities said there would be a definite ban and indeed then put the blocks on an IL76 bringing a cargo of fresh fish to Vatry. However, in this case the authorities ret used permission on the grounds that Air France objected to the move and not, points out Cutler. because it was a Stage 2 aircraft.
Then, at the time of talking to Cutler. an application to use an lL-76 tor a relief flight receiv ed a more sympathetic hearing. “My feeling is they are going to treat each application on a case by case basis,” he considers.
Meanwhile, there remains a grey area as far as outsized load.s, such as oil equipment, vehicles, turbines etc. are concerned. Ouzounian thinks these types of cargoes, for which other aircraft are unsuitable, will get permission to fly out of certain airports. If this is the case it could be good news for the Chapman Freeborn Paris
office which, for some time, has been heavily involved in moving oil related equipment for the Chad/Cameroon pipeline project being built by Exxon, as well as other oil jobs in Nigeria.
Cynics, on the other hand, might believe it is a case of the French protecting their own business interests. It might be worth seeing if the same rules apply in other European countries and how long will it be before a businessman points out that allowing one sort of flight hut not another is unfair and pos.sibly a restriction on trade.
German offices
Cutler does not share Ouzounians confidence entirely. He says: "We have been told that the Belgians, who were previously liberal of Stage aircraft, are now en f orcing the new rules rigorously. On the other hand we have also been told that countries have the right to determine which aircraft fly out of the sovereign territories.
"It is all so agile especially when it is hinted there is no ban on relief flights.”
Besides the relief work side Chapman Freeborn has enjoyed a much better start to this year than last and the forecast is set fair for early summer and beyond, points out Russi Batiwala, manag ing director of Chapman Freeborn’s Frankfurt office.
“The market is buoyant. We are receiving a lot of enquiries and look set to have a good second quarter. We're optimistic,” he enthuses.
Chapman Freeborn’s Ger man offices are getting their share of relief work, hut also generating good volumes of general freight. One black spot — the car-parts business which for many years has been a staple — is dying on its feet. But, as Batiwala says “we’ve easily weathered that storm”.
Now Batiwala is working on an exciting new project. Although he on't be drawn as to what it is. he hints: “All I can say is that it will open up new avenues of business for us that were not there before.”