Air Freight

Air Freight Services For someone who wants to send a shipment door-to-door and over a medium to long distance fast, the Airfreight will best fit their needs With air freight cargo is transported in different types of aircraft:

  • Passenger aircraft
    • in the cargo area below the passengers, the so-called “belly”
    • in the passenger cabin as hand-carry by a so-called “on-board courier” (OBC) flying as passenger, sometimes also called “hand-carry services”
  • Cargo aircraft, or: Freighters
    • on the main-deck or in the belly ; by means of nose-loading, where the whole nose is opened, or side loading, through a large cargo door
  • Combi aircraft
    • on the main-deck behind the passengers’ area with side loading through a large cargo door, and in the belly

 

Four Main shippers of AirFreight

  • Postal companies using Airmail
    • Envelopes and parcels up to 30 kg
    • Air transport generally outsourced to airlines
  • International Courier companies or: Couriers
    • Envelopes and parcels up to 75 kg
    • Air transport generally outsourced to airlines
  • International Express companies or: Integrators
    • Envelopes and parcels up to 75 kg
    • Generally operate their own aircraft, some destinations outsourced to airlines, aircraft operators or aircharter companies
  • AirFreight Forwarders
    • Parcels and consolidations > 75 kg or up to anything that fits in an aircraft
    • Air transport generally outsourced to airlines and sometimes aircraft operators or aircharter companies

AirFreight forwarders are the ‘traditional’ and still most important customers for the airlines. Forwarders contract, book and process over 80 per cent of international air cargo consignments. They compile the complete and (where necessary) customized door-to-door (D2D) air cargo supply chains for their customers, which are often called end-customers by the airlines. The airlines deliver the airport-to-airport (A2A) transport in this chain. The AirFreight Supply Chain When a demand on one place is supplied from another place with air transport as the main transport mode, an air cargo supply chain must be compiled. Air transport is relatively expensive, but often the fastest mode of transport available to cover medium to long distances. Therefore typical air cargo consists of goods with a high value and/or an operationally or commercially critical delivery time:

  • Airmail, diplomatic mail
  • Live animals, hatching eggs, human organs, human remains, medical supplies
  • Express parcels
  • Perishables (food, flowers, dry-ice shipments)
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Technical supplies
  • Luxury consumer goods (electronics, fashion goods, accessories)

An AirFreight cargo supply chain consists of the following steps:

  • Shipping
  • Clearing and Forwarding out
  • Air Transport
  • Clearing and Forwarding in
  • Consignment