General Terms & Conditions Cargo Airlines Services SAS
The T&Cs are published in English on the CAS website at www.cargoairlines.aero.
CAS arranges the transport of shipments on behalf of and with the permission of airlines. CAS represents that it shall allocate shipments sent through CAS and consignments delivered for this purpose to suitable airlines. The customer has the right to allocate a shipment to a particular airline. CAS guarantees neither the outcome nor the success of transport because CAS does not act as a contractual airline. Consignments within the meaning of these T&Cs are documents or goods for which a corresponding waybill has been issued and may be transported by any mode transport chosen by CAS, including but not confined to air and road.
As used in these T&Cs, the term ‘waybill’ is interpreted broadly to describe all orders and transport documents, including labels issued manually or automatically, as well as airfreight waybills and any other waybills. The T&Cs shall always be regarded as part and form an integral part of every consignment note. Transport is subject to the limitations of liability set forth below.
I. Goods excluded from transportation
Goods excluded from transportation include consignments with contents that IATA (International Air Transport Association), ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) or any other competent authority or organisation has classified as dangerous goods, as prohibited consignments or as permissible only under certain conditions; goods for which a mandatory customs declaration is required under prevailing customs regulations; goods that violate import or export regulations (under French, foreign, international or any other legislation); and goods that for security or legal reasons cannot be transported by the air carrier assigned by CAS.
II. Packing
The customer shall pack the consignment properly to ensure that its contents are secured in a way appropriate to the duration and mode of transport. CAS declines liability for any damage to the packaging and for any damage to inadequately packed consignments unless the damage demonstrably occurred due to intent or gross negligence on the part of legal representatives of CAS or their vicarious agents.
III. Right of inspection
For legitimate reasons CAS has the right to inspect or to open consignments. CAS may further open consignments randomly to check whether they are excluded from transportation under Article I and to open a consignment if CAS suspects that a consignment is excluded under Article I on the grounds that the contents differ from the labelling.
IV. Liability
As an intermediary, CAS cannot be held liable for the content and extent of the agreed contract of transport. Claims in this regard (for loss, destruction, damage or delay) must be brought directly against the air carrier or made know via CAS. Any claim made known to CAS shall be forwarded by CAS to the air carrier.
Complaints about clearly visible damage must be stated on the waybill. CAS declines liability for violation of customs regulations or for breach of modified requirements for the arranged transport.
It is the responsibility of the customer to obtain information about customs and import regulations and to ensure compliance with those regulations throughout the duration of transport and for all relevant countries, including in particular transit countries.
CAS shall not be liable for any financial losses arising from failures/mistakes occurring during activities performed by an agent or subcontractor, provided always that such losses were not caused through intent or gross negligence on the part of its engaged agents or subcontractors.
CAS shall not be liable for lost or damaged cargo or for bodily or physical injuries occurring during performance of the contract or for cancellation of flights or any other kind of damage incurred by the customer or third parties through force majeure. For the present purposes force majeure includes but is not confined to poor weather, arrest, judicial seizure, strikes or other events unforeseeable by CAS.
The following events shall also be considered instances of force majeure: war, civil war, civil unrest or war-like incidents and similar incidents which, independent of the state of war, arise from the hostile use of instruments of war – as a result of one of these dangers; terrorist or political acts of force, irrespective of the number of persons involved.
This shall also apply to:
all actions by persons or groups of persons aimed at achieving political, religious, ethnic, ideological or similar objectives, which are likely to spread fear and terror among the population (or sections therefore) and thus exert an influence on a government or state institutions (or parts thereof);
danger of nuclear energy or other ionizing radiation; confiscation, deprivation or other intervention by sovereign authorities; danger of use – by anyone – of chemical, biological or biochemical substances or electromagnetic waves as weapons constituting a public danger, namely, without consideration of any other causes; failure to obtain landing rights; impossibility of replacing essential crew (or crew members) on time in the event of circumstances such as illness; Storms, fog, lightning strikes, floods, high/low tides, frost, freezing, breaking up and drifting ice; fire explosions, smoke, burglary, theft, losses, sinking, collapsing, subsidence, moisture, odor, worm and damage caused by rats, mice, insects and other vermin; breakage of glassware, covered bottles and jars, cast iron and other easy breakable objects and inadequate packing; any other circumstances that by reasonable standards CAS could not avoid.
V. Tariffs, method of payment and cancellation
The transport charges that CAS collects in the name and on behalf of the airline shall be calculated based on the actual or the dimensional weight, depending on which is greater.
To check this calculation, CAS reserves the right to re-weigh and re-measure the consignment.
Consignments shall be transported at the rates stated in the relevant tariff information in the version applicable on the day the order was placed. Unless a different payment method has been agreed, the customer or its authorized representative shall pay the invoiced amount, including any surcharges, by transfer to CAS’s bank account within the term stated on the invoice. The payment term shall in principle be thirty days, under French law on payment arrears, unless parties have otherwise agreed.
If the customer unilaterally cancels or modifies an order placed with CAS, the customer shall be under obligation to reimburse CAS for the damage caused in this way. The damage shall be charged either as the actual damage incurred and made known to the customer by CAS, or as an estimated flat-rate amount :
- if shipment is cancelled 72h (workable days excluding week-ends) before departure of the truck/flight, 50% of airfreight charges will be charged
- if shipment is cancelled 48h (workable days excluding week-ends) before departure of the truck/flight, 75% of airfreight charges will be charged
- if shipment is cancelled 24h (workable days excluding week-ends) before departure of the truck/flight, 100% of airfreight charges will be charged
- if shipment delivered is containing -10% of total weight/volume booked cargo, 75% of weight/volume booked cargo will be charged
VI. Transfer of compensation claims/Indemnification
Insofar as CAS has any liability towards the customer, the customer shall transfer any claims to the recipient of the consignment and the disadvantaged third party at CAS.
The customer shall further indemnify CAS against claims brought by third parties in instances where the customer failed to fulfil its obligations towards CAS.
The customer shall also indemnify CAS for all and any liability for damage caused to third-party property, insofar as attributable to failure by the customer to comply with the general conditions of transport of the air carrier concerned.
VII. Data storage
CAS has the right to collect and save customer and sender data (such as address, industry, consignment number, email address and landline/mobile telephone number), pricing data (such as charges and values) and any additional data necessary (such as VAT number) for the purpose of the
transport services and for information purposes during inspections by federal agencies, customs offices and similar.
The saved data may be used for advertising purposes and for other CAS services and products. CAS warrants its compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act (DPA).
VIII. Applicable law
This agreement shall be governed exclusively by the laws of France.
If the final point of destination or a stopover is located in a country other than the country of shipment, only the mandatory regulations of the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air, signed at Warsaw on 12 October 1929 (‘Warsaw Convention’), in its current version, or the Montreal Convention of 28 May 1999 may be applied.
International transport may further be subject to the Uniform Regulations of the International Convention concerning the Carriage of Goods by Rail (CIM) of 9 May 1980 or the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR) of 19 May 1956.
In most cases, these international conventions limit the liability for loss, destruction, damage or delay of goods in transit.
In addition to the above regulations, and where applicable, the most recent versions of the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations, the ICAO Technical Instructions and national regulations for dangerous goods of the countries of departure, transit or destination.
IX. Objections to invoices
The customer shall make known in writing any comments about the services provided by CAS and any objections to invoices rendered by CAS, in each instance within eight days of the service provided or the invoice received. CAS shall disregard any comments or objections received after this deadline.
X. Damage clause and late payment interest
If the customer fails to pay an invoice rendered by CAS within thirty days, or another agreed payment term, the customer will owe CAS conventional late payment interest equal to 3 times legal interest fee over the total invoiced amount. If CAS incurs costs for debt collection through the courts, the customer shall owe lump sum compensation equal to fifteen percent of the total invoiced amount.
XI. Forum
Any legal disputes, legal proceedings or other disputes shall be subject to the exclusive territorial and material jurisdiction of the French Courts.
The General Conditions of Sale of CAS are viewable on the website www.cargoairlines.aero