Ethiopian Airlines service facilitates charter into Africa

AIR CHARTER service into Africa became a simpler and more routine shipping option in July when Airline Cargo Resources, the exclusive GSSA for Ethiopian Airlines, began offering twice weekly flights out of Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport. “The Ethiopian Airlines flights arrive on Thursday and Sunday. These are 747-200 aircraft, and we are contacted to use them for freight charter back into Africa to position them to Addis Ababa,” said Stuart Tonkin, general manager for the Pomona-based firm. Using this system, chartered cargo has been dropped off at Bamako, Lagos, Accra and other African destinations as the aircraft head back to the Ethiopian capital. Cargo has been as varied as the destinations. “Off the top of my head, we’ve moved mining spares, telecommunications equipment, cigarettes and election material. The cargo has been manufactured locally,” said Tonkin. ACR has devoted itself to the airfreight charter business since the beginning of this year, a year in which shipping has been impacted by rising fuel prices. This has led to an inevitable rise in the cost of chartering aircraft. “Prices have gone up because of fuel. We charge for a full flight. But this has not diminished the need for the service,” said Tonkin.