Air Charter Service’s Time Critical division revealed a major surge in demand for its Next Flight Out (NFO) service over the last year, as shippers turned to urgent, schedule‑based airfreight to navigate supply‑chain volatility and geopolitical disruptions. The NFO offering, which books cargo on the next available scheduled flight without a courier, grew around 175% year‑on‑year, reflecting its appeal for larger, pallet‑size consignments where cost‑efficiency still matters. That growth sits alongside an 85% rise in On‑Board Courier (OBC) jobs, and a 53% increase in U.S. ground‑transport bookings.
Robert Alleman, CEO of ACS Time Critical, said: “We enjoyed a very successful 12 months last year – with all three of our services seeing large increases. The biggest of those came in our NFO division, with almost three times the amount of work compared to 2024. We brought in the experienced Ash McCook a little under 18 months ago, who has a background in urgent logistics, which started in the armed forces more than 15 years ago – his focus on the NFO offering and team has really paid dividends. NFO provides a more versatile and cost-effective solution than OBC, as it allows for larger shipments that are unaccompanied by a passenger. With recent geopolitical situations, tariffs, supply chain disruptions and rapid market changes, NFO has become an invaluable resource for a wide array of industries. Having the IATA Cargo Accreditation affords us direct access to securing cargo capacity on virtually any airline, significantly increasing the speed at which we can book NFOs – increasing our efficiency, benefitting not only our team, but also our customers. Our Onboard Courier (OBC), or hand-carry, team increased their jobs by 85% last year, making it the most that they have dealt with in a year since we launched the division 10 years ago. We have a ground transportation department in the U.S., who often help to arrange trucking for our customers’ cargo and, with the increased workload, theirs has also grown, with 53% more bookings last year.” Dan Morgan-Evans, Group Cargo Director of ACS, added: “We restructured our TCS leadership team last year, with Robert as the new Head, and Andreas Spies promoted to COO, and it has really paid off. The future for ACS Time Critical is bright, following the huge strides the they made last year and the team expansion we are currently undergoing.”
