Or at least the raw materials for them. Air Charter Service handles all kinds of interesting shipments, including saving the day during an apparent blueberry drought. It was tasked with the urgent transportation of 400 tons of blueberries, last year, and arranged for them to be brought from Peru to New York. Ana Benavente, CEO of ACS São Paulo, commented: “Peru’s main blueberry harvest runs from August to November, peaking in September and October. The country is one of the world’s top blueberry exporters and, during these months, export volumes spike sharply — too much for regular passenger belly capacity to handle, especially on the Lima to New York route. Supermarkets and distributors in the U.S., especially on the East Coast, require fresh produce to be delivered within 24–36 hours of harvest. When a supplier’s yield exceeded the expected capacity during peak harvest season we were asked by one of our clients if we could arrange the urgent transportation of 440 tons of the fruit from Peru up to New York over a two-week period. Perishable cargo rarely flies on full charters, but the sheer volumes dictated that they were needed this year. We sourced four Boeing B747-400Fs, that were able to carry out the flights, each with 110 tons on board, with a few days in between each rotation. One of our team flew with the first aircraft to ensure everything ran smoothly, and he coordinated with the warehouse when the aircraft arrived, to ensure the cargo was properly broken down and successfully delivered to the trucks in as swift a time as possible.”
