Magma Aviation will operate its B747Fs on nine weekly rotations from Europe to the US. The move comes following US president Donald Trump’s travel ban on 26 European countries, which resulted in a sharp drop in cargo capacity on the transatlantic.
The Avia Solutions Group owned broker said: “Commodities such as food items, pharmaceutical goods, medical supplies, consumer goods etc. that would have typically travelled as belly freight on board passenger aircraft have now entered the ad-hoc cargo market, further tipping the balance of capacity/demand.
“The capacity issue is exacerbated by the fact that many cargo aircraft are already dedicated to easing the current demand in Asia.”
As well as the Magma aircraft, Chapman Freeborn has access to aircraft operated by other companies of Avia Solutions Group – Bluebird Nordic, Smartlynx, Avion Express and Klasjet.
Kim Borgaard, Chapman Freeborn Scandinavia general manager, said: “We have seen a surge in requests for cargo into the US from across Europe. In fact, with the grounding of many passenger fleets, we have seen an increase in cargo demand across the board.
“Wherever possible, we’re working with clients to consolidate cargo and sell capacity at an affordable rate. It’s times like these that Chapman Freeborn’s global office is a huge benefit – we can transport smaller movements by utilising capacity on booked part-charters.”