Air Chartering Now World Market For Britain

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32234, 28 February 1970, Page 5

Air Chartering Now World Market For Britain

(By HAROLD J. FARMER) When the call comes —“fly a whale from Los Angeles to London”—a charter plane somewhere in the world will be waiting, ready to speed anything and everything almost anywhere. Most recently the dramatic airlift of food, drugs, vehicles and doctors to the starving people of Eastern Nigeria pushed the fast-moving aircharter business to incredible lengths. Yet behind the muchpublicised flights of the huge Hercules transports to Nigeria lies an astonishing fact: three aircraft were actually in the air and on their way to Africa within 24 hours of receiving the British Government’s urgent plea fbt planes. Scouring the world, the air section of the Baltic Exchange, in London, finally found available .aircraft in places as far afield as Alaska, Miami, Seattle and Edmopton, in Alberta. Today 60 per cent of the world’s air chartering is handled through the Baltic’s air section, with business amounting to well over £l5 million a year. Nothing Too Awkward Nothing is too awkward for air-charter operators, who are used to carrying pedigree livestock, rare animals for zoos, juke boxes, complete helicopters, spare parts for other aircraft and, of course, humans. But today's highlyorganised and widely-diversi-fied air charter market has made giant steps since what was probably the first official air charter party—as such agreements are known This was signed in February, 1928, to cover a two-way flight of cargo between Croydon and Cologne, though inquiries for air chartering were reaching the Baltic three years earlier. The Baltic tradition goes back much further than that, it being in a Threadneedle Street coffee house 200 years ago that merchants dealing in tallow, flax and oilseeds from Russia and grain from the wheatlands of Poland, gath ered with sea captains plying the Baltic to do business. Ship chartering became an increased part of the merchants' business with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1858 and by the end df the century trade was flourishing in South Sea House, Threadneedle Street, City. Scope Extended It was at this time, too, that members decided to join with the London Shipping Exchange to form a combined body to be known as the Baltic Mercantile and Shipping Exchange. Shortly afterwards it moved into its present building not far away in St Mary Axe. Since that auspicious occasion the scope of the exchange has been greatly extended, the Air Section proving to be one of its most vital arteries, though at one time its future looked none too healthy. It was in 1938 that the Baltic made initial plans to form an air exchange, but the Second World War intervened. At the same time, the fighting revealed new possibilities for carrying men and materials by air. Thus three years after the fighting ended the Baltic set up an Air Freight Advisory Committee (later to be called the Airbrokers’ Association) which has since been highly successful in establishing air chartering as yet another major world market for Britain. Strict Code In all their dealings on the exchange the associa tion’s .members are bound by a strict code of conduct, for which the Baltic is famed. A great deal of business is done verbally and a member’s word is considered his bond. A firm offer of aircraft space or cargo must not be withdrawn. Two types of brokers operate in the airmarket: one who has business to offer and another who represents aircraft operators. Brokers ob-' tain their fee only from contract commission, which means that the charterer has no additional expenses other than the direct cost of the charter itself. Every day these brokers meet on the Baltic’s welltrodden floor, and their meetings ensure competitive prices: at the same time this ritual proves to be the most effective method of probing every source when aircraft are in short supply for a particular job. This often happens where long-haul work for example, the Nigeria airlift—is involved. Essentially worldwide in outlook, and operation, the Baltic is attracting more and more foreign airbrokers and charterers, and now close on 100 different aircraft companies—both national and independent—are represented at the Exchange. Many scheduled airlines, too, including 8.0.A.C., are ready to offer any part of their fleets of planes which may become available for chartering. Major Role The air market does not concern itself with the handling of individual passengers, nor with transportation of small parcels. These are left in the hands of the scheduled airlines. Chartering’s major role is in the markets outside the normal operations of the airlines. ■ (.'•

But as with most businesses, the air market has one outstanding headache—“empty” flying. For example, take an aircraft chartered to fly 150 students or holidaymakers to Karachi from London. The plane may have to return to its London base, and if a load can be found for this return trip the cost will be much less than if only the outward load were arranged. The load need not' necessarily come from Karachi and need not be people. The plane could carry cotton goods from Karachi to Rome, a film crew and its equipment from the Italian capital to the Persian Gulf and oil drilling gear on the final leg back to London. To help brokers fill these “empty legs” the Airbrokers’ Association issues a “Daily Market State” for circulation among members. This details loads on offer, both passenger and cargo, and lists current empty legs In this way individual charterers can save

having to carry the cost of a round-trip charter by themselves. Quick Availability In its early days the air section’s main loads were perishables, such as fruit, flowers and cheese, but then shipping companies caught on to the fact that charter air caaft could cut their costs in the time-consuming operation of ships’ crew-exchange. Also a ship held up by mechanical failure in a far off port could run up a hefty bill before the Second World War, but now hours or a few days are all it takes a charter plane to fly out spare parts. The many other advantages of air charter includes its capacity for carrying large and awkward loads at not much more than a moment’s notice. Many goods, such as drugs, radio equipment and domestic appliances, need only be packed in cartons if they go

by air, whereas rather fanepackaging might be needed i. they were to go by surfac< transportation. Today's air chartering firmhave the latest planes in sei vice for speedy carriage though perhaps the quickest air deal the Baltic has evei seen carried through con cerned an iron lung urgentV needed for a baby girl wiUi poliomyelitis in Madrid. Within half an hour of the broker receiving a telephom call a chartered British air craft was on its way to col lect the lung and medica' staff from another British air port. Inside eight hours th-, child was in the lung. Certainly the air charter business is thriving, but. say the experts, the boom has yet to come. When it does it will be the British holidaymaker who will be largely responsible, for the growing market in package holidays is seen by chartering companies to have only the sky as its limit. —P.A. Features Copyright.