INTERNATIONAL AIR FREIGHT: AIR

FREIGHT CHARGES, RATES, AND

COSTS
 CONTENTS

 What is international air freight shipping?

 What are the costs of air shipping?

 When should I ship by air?

 When shouldn’t I ship by air?

 What goods are generally shipped via air freight?

 Air cargo services & rates

 WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL AIR
FREIGHT SHIPPING?

 Air shipping is used by global importers and exporters

when they need to get goods somewhere rapidly and
reliably.

 While 90% of everything is shipped by ocean freight,

air freight connects the world faster, India-US freight
shipping time from 20-30 days by ocean to only three
days by air cargo.

 International air freight and express freight shipments

are not the same things.
 WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL AIR
FREIGHT SHIPPING?

 Express air freight is typically handled by one company

(like DHL, UPS or FedEx) that handles the entire shipment
lifecycle, with shipping from door to door in under five
days. These express air freight shipments are usually
smaller (less than one cubic meter and 200 kilograms) than
air freight.

 International air freight shipments can be significantly

larger and may move across multiple carriers during
shipment. As a matter of fact, the largest cargo airplane,
the Anatov 225 – can hold an entire train.
 WHAT ARE THE COSTS OF AIR
FREIGHT SHIPPING?

 When it comes to air freight shipping, weight and volume are key factors. Air
carriers will charge by either volumetric weight (also known as dimensional
weight) or actual weight, depending on which is more expensive.

 The air shipping global rule of thumb is to calculate the volumetric weight is
to multiply the item’s volume in cubic meters by 167. The volume is for a
package that is W: 40cm, H: 40cm L:40cm would have a .064 (the product of
all sides divided by one million). Multiple by 167, and you get a volumetric
weight of 10.67 kg.

 If the volumetric weight exceeds the actual weight of the product, the
volumetric weight becomes the chargeable weight. For light air shipments,
use this chargeable weight calculator to work out whether your shipment will
be charged by actual weight or dimensional weight.
 USE THIS FREE CALCULATOR TO
GET INSTANT AIR SHIPPING ESTIMATES
WHEN SHOULD I SHIP BY AIR?

There are three considerations you should have in mind to

determine when you should ship by air:

 Speed – Think five days from a factory in India to a warehouse

in the United States. Airplanes are about 30 times faster than
ocean liners. Passenger jets cruise at 575 mph, while slow-
steaming ocean liners move at 16-18 mph.

 Use this transit time calculator, based on data from real recent

shipments, to get estimates of transit times for air shipping. In
general numbers, air freight is usually 5X the price of trucking
and 16X the price of ocean freight, according to the 
World Bank.
WHEN SHOULD I SHIP BY AIR?

 Reliability – People are pickier than packages, which has

encouraged the freight market to develop more dependable
freight cargo services, and combined with better air freight
data movement, shipping by air provides better air freight
tracking and the knowledge that your goods will get to the
right place at the right time.

 Protection – While ocean piracy is on the decline, goods are

more likely to be damaged in ocean freight shipping than air
shipping.
WHEN SHOULDN’T I SHIP BY AIR?

There are three considerations you should have in mind to determine when you
might not want to ship by air:

 Cost – Simply put, air freight comes with a hefty price tag. Comparing air and
ocean freight, a medium size 2000 lbs box from Mumbai, India to New York, USA,
can cost $1,200 by ocean but a whopping $4,000 by air.

 CO2 emissions – Of course, air freight also leads to far more emissions. For
example, according to UK government research, 2 tonnes shipped for 5,000
kilometers by ocean will lead to 150 kg of CO2 emissions, compared to 6,605 kg
of CO2 emissions by air. Definitely not the greenest way to ship.

 Heavy shipments – Ever since the 1960s, freight shipping has revolved
around shipping containers, which are great for shipping large, heavy items. Air
freight is priced based on both size and weight, which can scale price very
quickly.
 WHAT GOODS ARE GENERALLY
SHIPPED VIA AIR FREIGHT?

 Since air cargo rates are prohibitively expensive, it’s usually

limited to smaller, high-value goods or time-sensitive items, such

as:

 Electronics. Steve Jobs famously purchased the entire available

air freight capacity along key Asia-US routes to ship the first iMac

prior to the holiday season.

 Apparel. Seasonal trends in clothing can shift fast. As a result,

companies generally need to get clothing from factories to stores

as quickly as possible. Again, clothing’s small size and high value

make it a great tradeoff.

 WHAT GOODS ARE GENERALLY
SHIPPED VIA AIR FREIGHT?

 Pharmaceuticals. Given their small size and value, medical

goods are frequently shipped by air.

 Documents and Samples. DHL Global Forwarding actually got

started by taking ocean freight documents by air to expedite

release along a new West Coast-Hawaii ocean line. Air remains

the most cost-effective method of shipping documents.

 Seasonal shipments. Whatever the product is, if there’s high

international demand for a product that requires bolstering

down a supply chain, it will generally be shipped by air.

AIR CARGO SERVICES & RATES

Beyond the air freight, which is calculated based on the cost above, the
air freight price will also likely include:
 Fuel surcharges
 Security surcharges
 Container freight station/terminal handling charges
 Airport transfers
In addition, for door-to-door costs, the price will also include air cargo
services, including:
 Customs brokerage
 Pickup and delivery
 Cargo insurance
 Accessorial charges
 DIFFERENT BETWEEN IMPORTING USING AIR
FREIGHT AND IMPORTING USING AIR CARGO?

Air Freight:
 Air freight is goods that are imported by a freight forwarding
company. These companies organize large shipments of goods
for companies or individuals who are importing large
quantities. Sometimes freight forwarders act as carriers of
these goods, as well.

Air Cargo:
 Air cargo, on the other hand, is bulk cargo that is added to
domestic cargo on an airplane. Air cargo companies do not
have their own planes to transport goods but simply “add on”
to already existing cargo.
 DIFFERENT BETWEEN IMPORTING USING AIR
FREIGHT AND IMPORTING USING AIR CARGO?

Air Freight:

 Air freight companies are their own entities.

 They can transport any amount and size of goods

because they have their own modes of
transportation, including planes.

 They can offer various times of delivery, too.

Overall, you should use an air freight company to
transport goods.
 DIFFERENT BETWEEN IMPORTING USING AIR
FREIGHT AND IMPORTING USING AIR CARGO?

Air Cargo:
 There are a lot more restrictions when you use air cargo. That
is because it has to meet airline height and weight
requirements.

 There can also be limited capacity and the delivery of your

goods could be pushed back if there is not enough room in a
planes cargo hold.

 Your goods are handled by airport workers, not the actually

the air cargo company.

 There is a lot of room for error.

NEED FOR GOOD FREIGHT FORWARDERS

You want to use a company that has a lot of experience and a good
reputation. These do not necessarily have to be big companies; small, local
freight forwarders can be just as or more reliable than large companies.

 Look for a company that has been in business a number of years. This
means it is stable.

 Look for a company that has a lot of connections with other carriers and
customs.

 Look for a company that offers insurance; errors are not always
avoidable.

 Look for a company that offers a few different options as far as cost
goes.