Puerto Rico air cargo charter is mostly one of two jobs: a shipment that has to move on a fixed date and will not wait for scheduled freight capacity, or a load that is too large, too urgent or too awkward to go any other way. San Juan is the practical gateway for both, and the whole eastern Caribbean stages through it.
Cargo Through San Juan
San Juan is the practical freight gateway for the eastern Caribbean, and that is a function
of the runway rather than of geography: Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (TJSJ/SJU) has
10,400 feet and a full US Customs and Border Protection port of entry, so an airliner-size
freighter can work there when it cannot work at the islands it is serving.
What decides a cargo charter is the same three things every time: what the shipment weighs,
what volume it takes, and whether it fits through the door. Door dimensions and floor loading
are the operator’s confirmation against your actual shipment, not an estimate we make. If any
part of the load is classed as dangerous goods, and lithium batteries and some medical material
often are, say so at the first call, because it changes which operators can carry it.
Freighters We Arrange
The aircraft below covers the range from a few hundred kilos on a turboprop to an outsized load on an Antonov. Each page sets out what the type carries and how it loads, and the right answer for your shipment comes from the weight, the volume and the door rather than from the list.
- Antonov An-124
- ATR 72
- Boeing 737-400 Freighter
- Boeing 737-800BCF
- Boeing 747-400F
- Boeing 747-8F
- Boeing 757 Freighter
- Boeing 767 Freighter
- Boeing 777 Freighter
- Embraer 120
- Lockheed C-130 Hercules
- McDonnell Douglas MD-11
- Saab 340
- Short 360
The Short Leg to the Islands
A good deal of freight arriving at San Juan is going on to Vieques, Culebra or another island, and the aircraft that brought it in is rarely the aircraft that finishes the job. The fields at the far end are short, so the second leg is usually a turboprop and it is planned at the same time as the first, not after it.
Turboprop, Narrowbody or Outsized
Cargo charter divides into three bands and the one you need is decided by the load and not by preference. A few hundred kilos of time-critical freight, or a pallet or two going out to an island, is turboprop work: a Saab 340, a Short 360 or an ATR 72, which can use the shorter fields the islands have.
A full pallet count moving between San Juan and the mainland or across the region is narrowbody work, which means a converted 737 or a 757. Above that, or where a single piece will not fit through a standard cargo door, it becomes widebody or outsized: a 767, a 777, a 747 variant, or an Antonov An-124 where nothing else will take it.
Dangerous Goods and Temperature Control
Two things narrow the operator list more than size does. Anything classed as dangerous goods changes who can carry it and what paperwork travels with it, and lithium batteries and some medical and laboratory material fall into that class more often than shippers expect. Temperature-controlled freight is the other: the question is not only whether the aircraft can hold a temperature but whether it can hold it on the ground at both ends, which in this climate is where it usually goes wrong.
Tell us about both at the first call. Finding out at the ramp is the version of this that costs money.
Arriving From Outside the United States
Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (TJSJ/SJU) is a full US Customs and Border Protection
port of entry, so an international arrival clears in San Juan and the arrival airport belongs in
the plan rather than in a late change of mind. Customs and immigration are handled on arrival
and we confirm the arrangements with the operator before the day.
On an inbound international leg the permit work follows the booking instead of running ahead
of it, and we will be straight about what is confirmed and what is still waiting on an approval
nobody here controls.
Landing Permits and Authorizations
Many international destinations require special permissions for landing and customs. Permits
are generally applied for after a trip has been secured on the aircraft schedule, and sometimes
the timeline is dictated by the local airport authorities. We will always do our best to ensure
departure / arrival times meet your needs, but these are sometimes subject to the approvals of
the local airport authority and government.
What to Tell Us First
Weight, volume, the largest single piece, and when it has to be on the ground. With those four we can tell you what will carry it and what it will take. Without them any number we give you is a guess, and a guess on a freight charter is the expensive kind.
The Vetting Behind Every Trip
Every operator, aircraft, and crew goes through our internal due diligence before we present
any options. Our internal standards meet or exceed what the FAA requires:
- FAR Part 135 charter operators for traditional private aircraft, or FAR Part 121 for
airliner-size and group trips (or the foreign equivalent on international legs) - Operator subscription to Wyvern and ARGUS reviewed where the operator participates.
- Pilot experience and operator incident history reviewed before we recommend an aircraft.
- Fewer than 60 brokers worldwide hold Premium Wyvern Broker Member status, and Air Charter
Advisors is one of them.
Contact Us
For air cargo charter in Puerto Rico, call 1-888-987-5387 at any hour or use our contact page. One advisor stays with the shipment from the first call to the delivery. Our safety page sets out the vetting behind every flight.