In 50 years of business, Chapman Freeborn has experienced the various ups and downs that have faced the aviation industry, with the pandemic the latest in a long line of challenges that had to be overcome.
Speaking to Air Logistics International on the Chapman Freeborn stand at air cargo Europe, Group CEO Eric Erbacher said that 2022 had seen record revenue and business is still proving strong as air cargo goes through a more challenging period.
Erbacher said it was a year of expansion with new offices in China and Europe. The workforce grew by around 100 employees and says the plan is to keep growing this year and in the years to come.
When planning for this year, the team knew that the pandemic was ending so though revenue was down in the first quarter, the bottom line has stayed strong.
He said, “We are ready now for the wave, we are on a path of growth and opening up additional offices.”
The new offices and representation are in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Italy, France and Mexico to increase the company’s geographic footprint.
Erbacher said that when looking at new markets, the team look at the economics, market size, customer base and the commodities to decide whether it is a good fit.
He said: “In markets like Mexico, which is very strong in the automotive sector, we are traditionally a very strong supplier of services to the automotive industry. Mexico is still a wide country in our map so want to close that gap so it fits perfectly in our long-term strategy to serve all major economic areas with our portfolio.”
Chapman Freeborn has been diversifying its portfolio by branching out into onboard courier services, managing widebody capacity by partnering with fellow Avia Solutions Group company, Magma Aviation, which has five Boeing 747s, and it has two small aircraft based in Germany to serve the automotive market in Europe. Being part of Avia Solutions Group provides the finances to keep growing, said Erbacher.
Having access to the four 747s Magma was operating at the time was very helpful for Chapman Freeborn when the pandemic struck.
Taking the risk of a fifth 747, despite the high lease cost, was a good move because nobody knew how long the pandemic would last. If Chapman Freeborn had waited much longer, the aircraft would not have been available.
“Now the market has changed, we are back to a pre-Covid environment where we have to fight for each shipment. On some lanes we see overcapacity, the yields are dropping, the prices have gone in some areas. It reminds me of a phase before the pandemic but that is normal, we have been in the market for 50 years, we go through these cycles,” he said.
Erbacher expects demand to normalise by the end of the year with noticeably higher yields before they return to pre-pandemic levels next year as more capacity enters the market.
Chapman Freeborn is going for growth with Boeing 777 Freighters planned for late next year and will grow in specialist areas such as OBC and animal transport through Intradco.
Cargo capacity management is another area of interest where Chapman Freeborn buys the capacity in advance then sells it.
A 50th birthday is something to celebrate, which is what Chapman Freeborn will be doing this year across the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and India, the Middle East and Africa, explaining, “We deserve it, our people deserve it because our assets are not really the aircraft, our assets are our employees.”
This article was published in the June issue of Air Logistics International, click here to read the digital edition and click here to subscribe.