We were asked to help transport agricultural machinery door-to-door from New York to North Dakota.
Moving agricultural machinery across the United States
In November 2021, a freight operator asked us for a door-to-door solution to transport agricultural machinery from New York to North Dakota. The client had a tight schedule and wanted us to position the charter flight within two hours of the cargo being ready at John F. Kennedy International Airport, so we needed to manage their expectations for such a complex operation whilst adapting quickly to any delays.
Our Solution
We persuaded the client to allow additional time for positioning the flight and suggested operating the charter from Republic Airport instead of JFK, which is known for its high landing costs and limited ground handling options. Delays in transporting the cargo from JFK meant the crew didn’t have enough duty time left for a same-day flight, so we quickly came up with several alternative solutions including splitting the trip between two recovery aircraft. The client opted to rest the crew overnight and complete the trip the following day.
Our team sourced an Embraer EMB 120, as it was the most cost-effective available aircraft that could transport the cargo. Realising the airport had no sandbags to prevent the aircraft from tilting whilst the heavy skids were loaded, we thought outside the box and sent team members from our New York City office to act as counterweights.
Route: New York City > Bismarck
Aircraft: Embraer EMB 120
The Finer Details
Rapid Response: We sprung into action and provided a quote within 20 minutes of receiving the request, before confirming the flight within the next hour.
Door-to-door Service: The client considered chartering directly from the operating airline, but our all-round expertise allowed them to avoid the time and stress of sourcing ground handling separately.