Leading aircraft charter specialist, Air Charter Service, was recently entrusted to fly 11 paintings by world famous artist Pablo Picasso from France to Morocco, for a special exhibition and then back to France after the two month exhibit had ended.
Francois-Xavier Camus, Managing Director of ACS’s French office, commented: “The pieces of art were insured for €150 million, although they are widely considered priceless. To ensure the safe transportation of the artwork, we suggested that the best way, within the client’s budget, would be on an Antonov 12 aircraft. For this option to work however, the aircraft had to fly below its usual cruising speed and altitude in order to maintain a steady temperature and for the cabin to remain pressurised. The boxes containing the paintings were to be reinforced and had to be kept upright at all times.
“Our Cargo Director from ACS Paris personally oversaw the loading and arranged for the truck carrying the canvasses to have direct access to the tarmac and to load straight onto the aircraft. The precision of the operation ensured that the boxes arrived in perfect condition.
“The exhibition was a great success and similar diligence for the return flight meant that they arrived back in France safely last week.”
About Air Charter Service
We are a global company with 20 worldwide offices, spanning all six major continents and we offer private jet, commercial airliner and cargo aircraft charters, as well as onboard courier solutions. We arrange more than 12,500 contracts annually and our revenue is close to half a billion dollars. We were formed in 1990 by Chairman Chris Leach and CEO Justin Bowman in a basement, and we now employ more than 400 staff worldwide.