Case study · Freight
Air charter case study: 14 hours from pick-up in Norway to on board
A ferry operator's replacement part was in Norway, the standard route was 2 to 3 days, and their vessel was holding up an aircraft carrier. We arranged an air charter and the part was on board 14 hours after we collected it.
14 hrs
Pick-up in Norway to on board
Client
[PLACEHOLDER: permission] NorthLink Ferries
Route
A supplier's yard in Norway to Aberdeen, then to the vessel
Cargo
A replacement part for the ferry [VERIFY: part description, if Ewan and the client agree]
Deadline
Faster than the standard 2 to 3 days
Mode chosen
Chartered aircraft, then our own van
When
[VERIFY: date of the job; told as "about a year ago" in October 2026]
The problem
A director at [PLACEHOLDER: permission] NorthLink Ferries rang Ewan Ferguson under real pressure. He did not, in his words, even have time to type an email [VERIFY: quote sign-off]. A part they had been fitting to one of their ferries had broken. The replacement was sitting in a yard in Norway. And the ferry was in the way: [PLACEHOLDER: permission] HMS Queen Elizabeth was waiting to go into dry dock, and the ferry was blocking it.
The options
The standard route for the part was 2 to 3 days. That was not good enough: the ferry could not move, and a second ship was waiting behind it.
We are not tied to any one carrier or airline, so the question was not "what does our network offer" but "what is the fastest thing that will actually work".
Standard route · 2 to 3 days · Not good enough
Chartered aircraft, then our van · On board 14 hours after pick-up · Chosen
What we did
We chartered an aircraft to fly up to Norway and collect the part. It flew straight back to Aberdeen. There it went onto the back of one of our own vans and was driven to the vessel.
The result
The part was on board 14 hours after we picked it up in Norway. The standard route would have taken 2 to 3 days.
The 14 hours runs from collection in Norway to the part being on board, not from the first phone call.
"[PLACEHOLDER: a line from the client, with written permission]"
[PLACEHOLDER: name, role, company]
What this means for your job
Not every urgent job needs an aircraft. Often a hotshot or an on-board courier will make the deadline. What matters is that someone looks past the standard route and prices the alternatives. If your parts go to ships, see marine logistics.
Got a part that cannot wait?
Call us with what it is, where it is and where it needs to be.