Emergency aircraft parts delivery — when overnight is not fast enough.
A grounded aircraft does not wait for a cutoff time. One call puts your part on the fastest realistic option — dedicated charter, next flight out, on-board courier, or hot-shot ground — with one dispatcher accountable door to door.
OnFly Air moves emergency aircraft parts same-day, door to door, across the US and internationally. We evaluate hot-shot ground, next-flight-out, on-board courier, and dedicated charter on every mission and select the fastest realistic option — not the most expensive one. Average wheels-up on dedicated charters: under two hours from go-ahead. The desk is human and answers 24/7/365.
Pick the right mode — we quote them against each other
| Mode | Typical fit | Custody | When it wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot-shot ground | Under ~500 miles, part ready now | Driver, sealed vehicle | Short lanes where drive time beats the airport-to-airport cycle |
| Next flight out (NFO) | Small parts on major airline lanes | Airline cargo custody | Big-city pairs with frequent departures and no airport-access problem — our NFO service |
| On-board courier (OBC) | Critical small parts, documents, international | A vetted courier, never out of sight | When custody and hand-off risk matter more than raw speed — our OBC service |
| Dedicated charter | Any size; outstations; crews or mechanics riding along | Single-purpose aircraft | Off-hours, oversized loads, regional airports, or when the schedule simply has to be yours |
What we need from you on the first call
Have what you can. Dispatch works with partial information every day — the quote starts on the first call, not after a form.
- Origin and destination — addresses or airports; outstation and regional fields welcome
- Dimensions and weight — even rough numbers drive aircraft selection
- Ready time — when the part can actually be at a door or dock
- The hard deadline — what time the part must be in hands, and what it protects
- DG status — lithium batteries, oxygen generators, squibs, chemicals: declare on call one
- Riders — mechanic or go-team traveling with the part, and any tooling
From call to proof of delivery
Representative missions
Patterns from our documented mission files. Details are generalized to protect client confidentiality — no client names, airports, or tail numbers.
CRJ grounded at an outstation
A regional airline’s aircraft went down at a station with no early-morning airline lift. A light jet launched with the part the same evening; the aircraft made its first departure the next day.
Part + mechanic, one aircraft
An operator needed a component and the technician qualified to install it in the same place, overnight. Both flew together on one charter — no split custody, no missed connection between them.
Coast-to-coast small part
For a sub-50-lb component between two hub cities, next-flight-out beat every charter option on both cost and arrival time. We booked the airline lift and handled both ends of the ground.
What emergency parts delivery costs
Distance, required aircraft, and positioning drive the price. A short-haul turboprop mission and a transcon heavy-jet mission are different animals — which is exactly why we quote modes against each other instead of defaulting to the biggest aircraft. The working math — including when charter is cheaper than the downtime it prevents, and when it is the wrong buy — is in What an AOG charter actually costs.
When you should not use us
- The part can safely ride tomorrow’s scheduled freight — standard air freight will be far cheaper.
- The deadline is soft and a ground courier makes it — take the truck.
- You need a standing contract-freight lane at commodity rates — that is a forwarder’s business, not an emergency desk’s.
If one of those fits, we will say so on the phone and point you at the cheaper option. A desk you can trust at 2am is worth more to us than one charter.
How fast can you move an aircraft part?
Can you pick the part up from a supplier or warehouse?
Can a mechanic ride with the part?
What if the part contains a lithium battery or is otherwise dangerous goods?
Can you deliver to a small regional or outstation airport?
What does emergency aircraft parts delivery cost?
Do you handle international AOG parts?
Who uses this service?
What information do you need to quote?
Is OnFly Air the airline?
Do you work nights, weekends, and holidays?
What if charter is not the fastest option?
Who actually flies the aircraft
OnFly Air is an air charter broker and logistics coordinator, headquartered in Kentucky with an office in San Diego, CA. We are not a direct air carrier. Every flight we arrange is operated by an FAA-certificated Part 135 air carrier (or the international equivalent) that we hand-select for the mission from a 2,000+ operator network — 500+ of them vetted for time-critical launch, including ARGUS and Wyvern-rated carriers. Ground legs, couriers, and customs are coordinated through vetted specialist partners. One OnFly dispatcher owns the mission end to end.
The aircraft is on the ground. The clock is running.
Call the desk or send the mission — quoting starts immediately.
AOG & Logistics hub
Every time-critical service on one desk — start here if the mission does not fit a box.
Charlotte → Birmingham: Baron 58 airborne 75 min from the call, under $6,000 · One-of-four fleet laptop to Wichita, round trip under $16,000 · all case studies →