Aircraft on Ground (AOG) – spare part needed urgently for an aircraft in the Philippines
The mission
Fastest possible shipment of an important AOG spare part for an aircraft grounded in Manila and unable to fly due to technical issues. Any delay in delivering the spare part could mean flight delays and cancellations.
The challenge
An international logistics company contacted us recently with an extremely time-critical transport request for an aviation customer. A spare part located in northern Germany at that time was needed for an aircraft in Manila as quickly as possible. The situation called for a rapid response, as any delay in getting the required part to its destination would lead to flight delays and cancellations. The recipient was facing the prospect of huge losses in revenue and upset, unhappy customers.
The transport
We received the request on Wednesday at 12:52 p.m. via our On Board Courier platform airmates. Thanks to our automated flight search system, our customer already had two quotes just 1 minute later. A quarter of an hour after that, the order was confirmed and booked by the customer.
The On Board Courier selected for the assignment immediately sprang into action, packing a travel bag with the necessities as well as the required documents. In the meantime, we instructed a direct courier to pick up the spare part in Norderstedt. The urgent package was handed over to our On Board Courier at 3:30 p.m., and then he made his way to Hamburg airport by taxi.
After the courier had checked in, the transported part completed export customs clearance procedures, and the Boeing 777 took off on time from Hamburg (HAM) for Dubai (DBX) at 9:35 p.m. After a brief stop in Dubai, the courier continued on to Manila (MNL), where he arrived with the spare part at 10:10 p.m. local time the following day. Once in the airport, he immediately contacted the customs agent, who had already been told to expect him, and agreed a place to meet there. Just 35 minutes after arrival, the import certificate had been issued by customs and the important spare part was handed over to the recipient.
The result
Just 29 hours after the transport was requested, the important spare part was handed over in Manila. This meant the repairs could be carried out on time and the jet could resume service.