Pilot Air Charter to the Rescue!

At Pilot, we know things don’t always go as planned. That’s why we offer aircraft charter services for emergency shipments. From Learjets to Boeing 747s or Antonov cargo planes, we’ll find the right aircraft to meet your specific shipment needs. In fact, Pilot recently handled an urgent request for a key, global customer on a tight time frame. The 145,000-pound charter shipment consisted of seven 20-foot ocean containers and three crates, all filled with tools and parts to fix a downed power plant. The shipment loaded on Friday, August 18, and departed from Rickenbacker International Airport on Saturday, August 19, on the Antonov 124 pictured above. With this charter, Pilot helped get the operation back online, saving the company from further costly downtime. 

Pilot Honored with 15th Ryder Carrier Quality Award

John Hill, president and chief commercial officer, along with Phil Annese, senior director, automotive services, and Stephen LeBeau, national account manager, automotive, recently accepted the 2016 Ryder Carrier Quality Award on Pilot's behalf. This is the 15th time Pilot has received Ryder’s award in the freight forwarder category and the third year in a row that Pilot was recognized for both its domestic and international services. Last year, Pilot handled approximately 5,000 shipments for Ryder through various accounts, mainly connected to the automotive industry. Since 2007, Pilot’s automotive specialists have been adding value to supply chains by offering customized programs and just-in-time solutions that streamline operations and improve cost efficiencies and responsiveness. Pilot is proud to be consistently recognized by Ryder and others for exceeding on-time performance demands and delivering superior customer service and new technology solutions.

The Harder the Destination, the More Pilot Wants Your Business

For some providers, this philosophy may not match their capabilities, mindset or willingness to go above and beyond for the customer. But at Pilot, it’s what motivates us, especially when it comes to government shipments. Since 1998, Pilot has routinely delivered our troops their required cargo, regardless of location. Our vast partner network means we can move supplies from routes like New York to Mongolia or Guam to Korea, just as easily as San Francisco to Seattle. We’re proud to serve the Department of Defense (DOD), including all branches of the Armed Forces, GSA, NASA and other Departments of the U.S. Government. From uniforms to combat zone equipment, it’s what Pilot does best: deliver the gear wherever it’s needed so our troops can get their jobs done. We consider it our duty and privilege to be a worldwide government service provider.

Pilot Seattle Finds Sweet Success Shipping Cherries

Pilot Seattle is celebrating another successful 12-week cherry season, during which the station moved 11 million pounds of the fruit over 6,000 miles from Washington state to the Far East. After 28 years of shipping cherries, Patrick Allen, franchise owner, and his team are well versed on the delicate process of moving the fresh produce. “One mistake and you could lose a ton of fruit," he says. "That’s why year after year the importers and growers trust Pilot.” The intricate operation involves numerous variables from space availability to arrival times and document preparation to order specifics. The SEA team works seven days a week from June to August to make sure cherries are readily available in markets around the world. In July alone, Pilot Seattle shipped over 7.3 million pounds, mostly to Asia. During that time, the station even sent four 747-400 jet airline charters of cherries to Shanghai and Hong Kong! 

Pilot Freight Services Leads the Pack in the Quest for Quality

Pilot was named the top Airfreight Forwarder in the 2017 Quest for Quality awards from Logistics Management magazine. Among the five ratings criteria, Pilot also scored the highest in the customer service and on-time performance categories. This seal of approval comes from readers of the industry’s top trade publication for supply chain professionals. As the actual users of freight forwarding services, this audience understands and appreciates the value of service and performance. This recognition is widely regarded in the transportation industry as the most important measure of customer satisfaction and performance excellence. Readers also rated providers on value, IT and equipment and operations. Pilot has earned more than 25 Quest for Quality awards in the past three decades. Congratulations to the entire Pilot team for continuing to demonstrate its long-standing commitment to our customers and the industry!