Three tools move critical freight by air. Most providers sell one of them. Picking the right one per mission is the dispatcher’s craft — and it is where money and hours are won.
The three tools
- Next-flight-out (NFO). Your shipment rides as expedited cargo on a scheduled airline flight. Cheapest of the three, widely available — but schedule-dependent, connection-fragile, and out of your custody.
- On-board courier (OBC). A vetted courier takes custody at your door and hand-carries the shipment in the cabin — continuous custody, live status at every leg, signed proof of delivery at the other end.
- Dedicated charter. An aircraft flies your mission and nothing else. Total schedule control, any weight or dimension, hazmat capable with the right carrier.
How a dispatcher chooses
- It fits in a case, the deadline is measured in hours, and commercial schedules line up → OBC is often fastest and most economical.
- It is bigger than a cabin seat, the deadline has some slack, and the routing has a solid direct flight → NFO can do the job.
- The line is down, no schedule works, the load is oversized or regulated, or failure is not an option → dedicated charter.
The variables that flip the answer
Custody requirements flip NFO to OBC. Hazmat restrictions flip OBC to charter. A missed connection flips NFO to charter at 11pm. Borders add customs to all three — which is why the plan should be built by someone coordinating the whole chain, not selling one link of it.
One desk, all three
OnFly Air quotes across all three tools and flips mid-mission when facts change — same dispatcher, no second briefing. That is the practical meaning of door-to-door time-critical logistics.
Small shipment, huge stakes? See on-board courier. Bigger than a seat? Air cargo charter. Or just call (858) 529-7860 — 24/7/365.