Why the Return Leg Decides Your Cargo Charter Price
A shipper who charters a freighter from A to B usually pays for more than one flight. The aircraft has to get back to its base or to its next job, and if nobody else is paying for that flight, the charter price covers it.
Understanding this explains why the same route can cost very different amounts in each direction, and why a small change in plan can save a large share of the price.
One way cargo, two way flying
A freighter charter price is built from all the flying the job causes:
Positioning the aircraft from where it is to the loading airport
The loaded flight to the destination
The return, either empty or with a backload
If the aircraft is based at the loading airport and returns empty, you pay for two flights to move one load. If it has to position in from elsewhere, you may pay for three.
Directional imbalance
Air cargo flows are rarely balanced. Some typical patterns:
Exports of perishables and garments from East Africa and South Asia to Europe and the Gulf are heavy; the return flows are much lighter.
Flights into remote or developing regions often go in full with equipment and supplies and come back nearly empty.
Seasonal peaks such as flower exports before Valentine's Day fill aircraft in one direction only.
Operators price the empty direction into the loaded one. That is why chartering against the main flow can be cheaper: an aircraft that would otherwise fly home empty may be available at a much lower price.
How to bring the price down
Find a backload
If you or a partner have cargo moving the other way, a round trip with loads both ways can cost far less than two separate one way charters. Forwarders often combine volumes for this reason.
Be flexible on timing
An aircraft that has just delivered a load near your airport may be looking for a return job. Flexible dates let a broker match your cargo to that aircraft.
Choose the right base
An operator based at or near your loading airport avoids the positioning cost. The cheapest aircraft on paper can become the most expensive once positioning is added.
Consider a series
A regular series of flights on the same route lets the operator plan returns and backloads, and usually brings a lower price per flight than a single charter.
Why the same route prices differently each way
Suppose a freighter is based in Nairobi. A charter from Nairobi to a Gulf airport, returning empty, costs the full round trip. A charter from the Gulf to Nairobi might cost less if the operator has a load going out and would otherwise return empty. The distance is identical; the price is not.
Questions to ask on any quote
Where is the aircraft positioning from?
Is the return empty, and is it included in the price?
Would the price change if dates moved by a day or two?
Is there a round trip price if we can provide a backload?
Getting a quote
Jetvice arranges cargo charters directly with operators and looks for positioning and return legs that reduce your cost. Email your route, dates, cargo and weights to info@jetvice.net, or see our air cargo page.
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