Air freight services/air transportation or international shipping can benefit your supply chain. Shorter transit times are available for exporters and importers. Air shipments also tend to spend less time in customs clearance. Due to the low risk of goods being damaged or lost on a flight.
Also, high-value cargo can be safely and efficiently shipped by air through the international air shipping process. Airplanes are a safer way to ship goods. Even though it isn’t necessary to ship by air all the time, air freight services is a cost-effective alternative to ocean freight when time or value is concerns.
A Guide to Air Freight
Ship goods by air with a packing list, calculate the gross weight and shipping fees and arrange a shipment with your choice of air freight forwarder. The air waybill, used instead of a bill of lading when you export goods by air, is also required.
Besides being transported to the relevant intermodal point, your goods will also need to be delivered to the warehouse for air shipping. Once your shipment clears customs, it will be loaded onto the transport vessel.
What is the approximate Air Transport Costs?
The cost of the air freight company service is found to be much higher than that of other shipping methods. The price is in between 4 to 5 times which is greater than road shipping and 12 to 16 times greater than as compared to the freight shipping via ocean. The delivery cost is also more expensive. Moreover, shipping and import duties are calculated based on the total cost of goods and shipping.
However, importers and exporters who have to move high-value goods or ship time-sensitive goods may see the required delivery costs as necessary steps to continue to do business.
Depending on the higher figure, airfreight is generally priced according to gross or volumetric weight. To calculate volumic weight, multiply the three dimensions of the shipment in inches—length, height, and width—and divide the result by 166.
What is Air Freight Timelines all about?
Airfreight travel times are much shorter than those associated with ocean shipping. It will take an air shipment around 3-5 days to cross the Pacific, whereas an ocean shipment will take closer to 3 weeks.
The transportation time of air transportation is shorter. The customs clearance on air freight services can often begin the same day and finish within a couple of days as well.
Airfreight services for shipping can make such sort of the supply chain function for the time-sensitive shipments or the shipments that contain perishables. And in this way, the price difference becomes very much worthwhile.
Shipment by air: advantages and disadvantages
Advantages
- Ship by air if you need to move cargo quickly. By express air service or the air courier, transit time is 1-3 days and another air service is of 5-10 days. On the other hand container ship is of 20-45 days. Airports are also known to be faster than seaports at the clearing customs and for examining cargo.
- The schedules of airlines ensure that the cargo arrivals and departures are known to be highly reliable.
- There are many flights from and to most worldwide destinations provided by airlines. Airfreight services are the only practical option for the sake of shipments to and from the landlocked countries.
Disadvantages
- The cost of shipping under air Freight Company near me is higher than shipping by sea or road. An international study by the World Bank found that air freight is 12-16 times more expensive than the ocean freight. Air freight is also charged based on cargo volume and weight. For heavy shipments, this is not the best option.
- There is a major difference towards the carbon footprint between the services of air and in the ocean cargo. According to a study by the UK government, transporting 2 tonnes of cargo by container ship across 5,000 km will generate 150 kg of CO2e (a measure of global warming potential), while transporting the same cargo by air will generate 6,605 kilograms. Air pollution as well as global warming is caused by the emissions from takeoffs, as well as landings, and during flights. In addition to noise pollution, air cargo contributes to congestion at airports.
Conclusion
Cargo that is perishable, food-related, or expensive may have to be transported by air for some shippers. Compared to ocean or land shipping, air shipping or air freight services is more costly, but also much faster.
Those looking for an additional level of security for their items, air freight can be the best option for you.
