AOG Response • Boeing 737 Supply Chain • Textron Aviation • Bombardier Defense • 24/7
AOG Freight & Ground Expedite
Wichita, Kansas
Air Capital of the World. When an aircraft is grounded waiting on a part, the clock is running and the cost is real.
By Robert McGrady, Senior Freight Specialist, AB&M Logistics • Updated March 2026
AB&M Logistics handles AOG (Aircraft on Ground) freight in Wichita with 30-minute dispatch for Boeing 737 fuselage production, Textron Aviation, and Bombardier defense operations. AB&M covers the central aerospace supply chain from Tulsa to Kansas City with dedicated ground and air expedite. Director David King sits on the Airforwarders Association Board of Directors; zero cargo theft since 1997. Call (803) 244-9897.
AOG freight broker services in Wichita, Kansas exist for one reason: when an aircraft is grounded waiting on a part, the clock is running and the cost is real. AOG — Aircraft on Ground — is a term every aerospace supply chain manager in Wichita uses daily. Boeing estimates that a single AOG event can cost an airline $10,000 to $150,000 per hour depending on aircraft type and route. That number does not include production line stoppages at the manufacturing level, where the math is worse.
If you're searching right now because a production line at Boeing Wichita or a Textron aircraft is waiting on a component, call 803-244-9897. 24/7 dispatch. 30-minute response. If you're building your emergency carrier program before the next AOG situation, read on.
The 737 Fuselage Is Still Built in One Place
Boeing's Wichita manufacturing facility — the former Spirit AeroSystems complex, fully reintegrated into Boeing Commercial Airplanes in December 2025 — produces fuselage sections for the 737 MAX, the P-8, and the KC-46, along with major structures for the 767 and 777 programs. Wichita is not a regional plant. It is the designated production source for Boeing's most commercially critical airframe.
When the Wichita facility has a component shortage, there is no rerouting option. The supply chain feeding Boeing Wichita — aluminum extrusions, fasteners, composites, avionics components, precision machined parts — comes from suppliers across North America. When any of those components run short, ground expedite is not a cost consideration. It is a production continuity requirement. AB&M's ground expedite network covers Wichita with active 24/7 carrier dispatch.
Wichita's Aerospace Anchors
The AOG Math — What This Means in Dollars
Boeing estimates a 1-2 hour AOG situation costs an airline $10,000 to $20,000 and potentially as high as $150,000 per hour depending on aircraft type and the route being flown. That is direct financial exposure before a single passenger compensation claim is calculated. A production line stoppage at Boeing Wichita waiting on an inbound component generates a cost-per-hour figure that dwarfs any expedite freight fee AB&M would charge for the shipment. The math makes ground expedite the obvious answer. The only variable is whether you have a carrier relationship in place before the call has to be made.
Textron Aviation — Cessna and Beechcraft
Textron Aviation manufactures Cessna and Beechcraft aircraft in Wichita, making this the world's largest general aviation manufacturing hub. The Citation business jet line and Beechcraft King Air turboprops come from Wichita production facilities. Textron's inbound supply chain — components, avionics, structural parts, cabin materials — requires the same time-critical expedite response that Boeing does, at a different production scale. AB&M covers the Wichita metro with active 24/7 carrier dispatch for aerospace component freight.
Bombardier Defense and Service Center — Wichita
Bombardier operates its US headquarters in Wichita, having expanded from three hangars to seven since ending Learjet production in 2022. The Wichita facility now houses Bombardier Defense — executing USAF contracts for modified Global 6000 aircraft as BACN platforms — as well as a full-service MRO center supporting the entire Bombardier fleet including Learjet, Challenger, and Global aircraft worldwide.
MRO operations generate ongoing AOG parts requirements. When a Bombardier aircraft in service needs a component and the service center in Wichita is the supply point, ground expedite is the execution method. AB&M is positioned for that lane.
The Central Aerospace Supply Chain — Tulsa and Kansas City
The suppliers feeding Boeing Wichita, Textron, and Bombardier are distributed across Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Missouri. AB&M's ground expedite serves that inbound supply chain — connecting component suppliers to the Wichita production floor with dedicated carriers, direct routes, and 30-minute dispatch response. When a certified part is sitting in a supplier's warehouse in Tulsa or Kansas City and Wichita needs it today, AB&M moves it.
Wichita Corridor Coverage — Central Aerospace Supply Chain
From Wichita, AB&M's ground expedite reaches Kansas City in approximately 3 hours via I-35, Oklahoma City in 2.5 hours via I-35 south, Tulsa in 2 hours via the Turner Turnpike, and Dallas/Fort Worth in approximately 5.5 hours. This corridor covers the entire central aerospace supply chain.
For components that need to move faster than a truck can deliver, AB&M also coordinates air expedite — hand carry and air freight options — as a tertiary capability when the ground window has closed.
AOG Response Protocol — Not a Quote, an Activation
When an aerospace account calls AB&M for an AOG situation, we do not send a quote. We activate. The carrier is identified, the route is confirmed, and the truck is moving within 30 minutes. That is not a marketing claim — it is the operational standard we hold ourselves to and the reason aerospace accounts establish the relationship before the emergency, not during it.
AB&M Logistics built the dedicated server logistics program for Meta — ESD-compliant, white-glove, full SOP documentation. The same protocol-driven execution that protects mission-critical server hardware protects mission-critical aerospace components. Pre-arranged SOP documentation means the decisions are already made before the emergency call comes in. The carrier is pre-qualified. The route is pre-mapped. The escalation chain is already documented. At 2am in Wichita when a Boeing line is waiting on a part, none of that work happens in real time. It has to be done before.
David King — Director, Client Partnerships
David King serves on the Board of Directors of the Airforwarders Association (2025–2028) and brings over 20 years of expedited freight experience to AB&M's operations. He was cited in the AfA's October 2025 press release calling for a Federal Cargo Theft Task Force. David oversees AB&M's client partnerships, carrier vetting standards, and operational protocols across all service lines.
AOG situation right now?
Call AB&M. We activate, not quote.
Wichita aerospace expedite. 24/7. 30-minute dispatch. Ground and air options.
24/7 AOG Dispatch