Giant Crocodile Transported to Toledo
Toledo, Ohio – Apr 11, 2013 – Grand Aire has arranged air charters over the years for business owners, Hollywood celebrities, famous musicians, politicians and exotic creatures but this is the first time the company has ever handled a “croc star”! The Toledo Zoo asked the charter experts at Toledo-based Grand Aire to arrange the final leg of the charter after a long flight on Qantas Air from Australia. A large specially made crate was used to transport the creature and he was escorted for the entire thirty-four hour journey by an animal expert from Australia.
After clearing U.S. Customs in Dallas, the reptile arrived Friday night at the Grand Aire FBO at Toledo Express Airport and was gently offloaded from a temperature-controlled Convair 5800 cargo plane. He is believed to be the largest saltwater crocodile in North America and quite possibly in the Western Hemisphere.
croc_off_load_small.jpgGrand Aire Offloads Crocodile Photo courtesy of The Toledo Zoo Zachary Cheema, President of Grand Aire, personally worked the large forklift to offload the extra-large crate from the plane to the awaiting environmentally-controlled straight truck for the final few miles to the Toledo Zoo. Baru is now getting used to his new home and will make his first public appearance on May 24th.
Despite his enormous size, Baru isn’t the largest living creature that Grand Aire has flown. Several years ago, the company was hired to transport a killer whale on a B-747.
A copy of the press release from the Toledo Zoo with more details about their newest resident is available here.
About Grand Aire, Inc.
Grand Aire Inc, based in Swanton, Ohio, is one of the top freight and passenger air charter providers in North America and also provides air freight and expedited trucking services. Founded in 1985, the company is privately owned and operated by the Cheema family. Grand Aire manages a network of thousands of charter aircraft and ground transportation vehicles stationed around the world. The company has earned a reputation as one of the most professional and responsive logistics providers in the on-demand charter business and serves many of the top logistics professionals, government agencies and manufacturing companies around the country. Grand Aire also serves the medical community with the transportation of organs, tissues and surgical teams. The company operates the only 24/7 full-service FBO at Toledo Express Airport offering cargo handling, fueling, de-icing and other services to all types of aircraft. Grand Aire, Inc is certified as a minority and service-disabled veteran-owned small business.