Specialist UK-based air charter and aircraft leasing company Chapman Freeborn, founded in 1973, has announced that it has tripled the size of its Africa team, which is located close to South Africa’s premier airport, OR Tambo International, east of Johannesburg. This is the result of air cargo revenues in Africa increasing by 30% during the period from 2021 to 2023.
The chartering and leasing of freighter aircraft is one of the areas in which the company specialises. Its customer base includes multinational corporations, governments, humanitarian organisations, many industries and freight forwarders. Its other main areas are specialist passenger services, whether for executive travel, crew rotation missions, or international group travel, and onboard courier (OBC) services.
In Africa, the company has hitherto concentrated on South Africa, but this year, with its expanded team, it will expand its coverage to the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. It can provide African clients with services such as cargo charters, and live animal and OBC services.
“Infrastructure in Africa is developing quickly to support international trade and we see major advancements on the logistics and supply chain front,” reports company India, Middle East and Africa regional CEO Sharon Vaz-Arab. “South Africa is high on automotive trade and our OBC product serves the sector’s increasing calls for time-sensitive critical hand carry movements that are faster than a charter or a courier.”
The group feels that it can support the development of key sectors in Africa, by providing more short- and medium-term block charters and by developing its aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance leasing services. These key sectors include the automotive, energy and oil and gas industries.
“We have an extremely talented team in Africa and my estimate is that if Chapman Freeborn’s Africa operations continue at this pace, we will need a much larger office by the year’s end,” she affirms.