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around , so air charters were required to reach many global destinations .
“ 1989 marked our first animal assignment , which saw us move just six horses from London to Accra . From the 1990s onwards , we specialized in live animal transport , developing subject knowledge that later led to us extending our services to an array of wildlife , exotic animals , and protected species . We also began developing horse and livestock stalls with a focus on innovating the process from an animal welfare perspective .
“ By the turn of the millennium , we were focused almost exclusively on live animal transport , especially considering the horse racing sector was rapidly evolving ,” he continues . “ We then started to transport animals for breeding , rewilding , and conservation projects , growing from a small business to part of a much larger organization following our acquisition by Chapman Freeborn Airchartering in 2014 . As the world ’ s largest cargo charter company at that time , the acquisition by Chapman Freeborn enabled us to expand our products and services via their worldwide offices .”
Chapman Freeborn was later purchased by Avia Solutions Group , the world ’ s largest aircraft , crew , maintenance , and insurance ( ACMI ) provider . “ Given its leading position in the market , Avia Solutions Group owns several commercial and cargo aircraft that afford us the advantage of using our own aircraft for live animal transports ,” Charlie explains .
“ Today , we specialize in handling all different types of species including equine , genetic and commercial livestock , zoological , and poultry . We don ’ t actively focus on traditional cargo , but we occasionally move cargo where it complements the live animal transport or makes a process cost efficient for the customer . We ’ re taking an animal shipment from Europe to Africa , for instance , but instead of flying an empty plane on the return journey , we found a
customer who needed a shipment transporting from Madagascar to France , making the entire journey much more cost effective and sustainable .
“ In terms of geographic growth , the UK has always been our headquarters , but we now occupy additional offices in Toronto , Dubai , Miami , and soon to be Australia ,” he states . Toronto was our first international expansion , and the Miami office helps us service the North American market while also providing a gateway into Latin America . Our next expansion is into Australia , which has both a strong horse market and an extensive agricultural sector .”
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