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Elmer Herschelman, project manager, left, and Chris Healy, chief operating officer of Active Aero Group USA Jet, check out a DC-9 passenger jet in Willow Run Airport Tuesday.Local spotlight
Active Aero charter delivers just in time
Willow Run transit management system lets clients compare the costs of shipping.
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BELLEVILLE -- When Mike Segrist found out Wednesday morning that an inventory shortage threatened to shut down the assembly line for the 7 p.m. shift at the Automotive Alliance plant in Flat Rock, he called Active Aero Charter at Willow Run Airport.
Using Charter Net, a proprietary Internet-based bidding model first implemented in 1996, Active Aero gave Segrist 11 bids within a few minutes for a shipment from a supplier in Greenville, S.C. He selected the carrier that could get the parts to his plant by 6:30 p.m.
"It was just in time," said Segrist, a supply chain supervisor.
Active Aero coordinates close to 11,000 expedited shipping deliveries a year. Its subsidiary, USA Jet, handles about a third of those flights with its fleet of 13 DC-9's, 12 Dassault Falcon 20s, a Lear jet and a King Air turbo-prop.
Active Aero's fee-based transportation management system enables customers to compare the costs of shipping on different types of aircraft as well as by truck. The system often identifies less expensive but slower alternatives.
Depending on location of the plane and other variables, a Lear jet can cost between $2,500 and $6,000 for a 500-mile trip. A DC-9 can cost between $6,000 and $15,000.
"The client gets to trade time for money," said Active Aero Group's Chief Operating Officer Christopher Healy.
But customers like Segrist don't have any time to spare. "We're the court of last resort for industry, so we never say no. We find a way to get it done," Healy said.
Hank Arbeiter, operations manager at AFC Worldwide Express in Indianapolis, said he often uses Active Aero when putting together last-minute freight service. He likes the computer system that provides prices within a few minutes and enables him to track the progress of his shipment.
"To me they're the top of the line," Arbeiter said.
Healy said his company couldn't guarantee its customers 11th-hour service without having its own planes. USA Jet usually has one or two DC-9's ready to respond within an hour to a request from one of Active Aero's contracted customers.
"This business is very chaotic and only an asset owner can guarantee service," he said.
The expedited air freight industry originally developed to meet the needs of the automotive industry and its just-in-time inventory systems. Shipments to auto plants accounted for almost all of Active Aero's business prior to 2000, and the company has contracts with five automakers and 11 Tier I suppliers.
The 2001 terrorist attacks reduced automotive demand and also had a devastating impact on the entire airline industry. Active Aero and USA Jet cut their staffs from 500 to 300 and decommissioned 10 planes.
Since then revenues have increased 50 percent to $100 million for the fiscal year ending June 2004. Staffing has rebounded to around 400, and most of the mothballed planes are back in service.
Thirty percent of Active Aero's business now comes from outside the automotive industry. The sales staff, which went from three to 10 in the past two years, has targeted college athletic programs for its passenger service.
During the 2003-2004 academic year, Active Aero made 286 trips for more than 50 colleges.
The Michigan State University men's and women's basketball teams flew to their NCAA tournament games on USA Jet DC-9's, as did teams from Kentucky and Louisville.
Zoos have even used Active Aero to transport dolphins, a manatee and a killer shark.
Eric Pope is a Metro Detroit freelance writer.
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