In an era where speed, reliability, and precision are paramount, Air Partner has taken a highly tailored approach to the time-critical cargo sector—one that deliberately avoids the cookie-cutter logistics of larger, volume-driven players.
The company’s dedicated focus on time-critical cargo emerged during the turbulence of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The time-critical focus in aerospace developed about four or five years ago, during the pandemic,” Eliska Hill, Air Partner’s senior vice president of cargo for the UK and rest of the world, said. “As passenger aircraft began flying again, there was a demand for additional capacity. Aircraft were being brought out of storage and long-term maintenance to fly again. Suddenly, there was a strong requirement for parts, spares, and general equipment.”
What began as a reactive solution quickly evolved into a fully integrated vertical. “This business grew quite organically, reaching into a completely new space, and taking that initial step into what would traditionally be a freight forwarding, controlled relationship,” she continued. “Why offer a logistics solution that everybody else automatically would? We’ll try to find a solution that might be a little bit more unique and bespoke, and certainly more cost-effective for the customer. This could entail a direct drive (RFS), onboard courier (OBC), next flight out (NFO), up to a part or full charter flight. There could be a combination of different services, which is where Air Partner’s strengths come into their own.”
To meet the demands of round-the-clock urgency, Air Partner made a major investment in March 2024 by launching a 24/7 time-critical service desk based at the Air Partner Gatwick Airport HQ. “The requirement has to be truly 24/7. Being able to react and offer solutions quickly at all times of the day and night is critical,” Hill stated.
Bespoke, Not Boxed
Success in time-critical cargo hinges on deep listening and tailored execution—not just moving shipments from A to B.
“It’s taking that step back to really understand the customer’s needs. And obviously, different verticals will have different requirements,” Hill explained. “Often the customer will request, ‘It needs an Antonov AN124 charter,’ and we’ll say, ‘Well, actually, you probably don’t need that,’ and provide a variety of options.”
It’s here that Air Partner’s brokerage DNA becomes its greatest asset. “It may be that it doesn’t always need to move airport to airport with an aircraft—it can be trucked. And that’s where we can offer this alternate option,” she noted. “The aim is to move everything on a door-to-door service, which is what the customer actually wants at the end of the day.”
This approach, which Hill brands as a “white glove service,” goes beyond logistics to encompass operational orchestration at every level.
“The team is reliant on various different touchpoints and entities throughout—there’ll be a trucking company, there’ll be a customs agent in the country of destination or origin, etc.,” she said. “Those relationships have to be in place, and they all have to be working at the same level of service.”
Where many freight forwarders offer standard options, Air Partner offers curated solutions backed by a limited, high-touch client base. “We don’t work with a lot of customers,” Hill emphasised. “We actually prefer to work with a few select customers on a frequent basis.”
One such example illustrates the ingenuity Air Partner brings to the table. “We had a case of an aircraft engine failure in West Africa. Normally, somebody would say, ‘Right, we’re going to do a full charter to move an engine.’ But it’s actually—do we need to run a full charter from the US to West Africa? No, we don’t.”
Instead, her team created a hybrid logistics model—trucking, scheduled airfreight, and a short-sector charter—that delivered better speed and lower cost. “Quicker, faster, cheaper,” Hill recalled. “And it worked extremely well overall for the customer.”
