Air Freight Shipping
Air freight is a safe and efficient way for immediate transportation. Air cargo always has high value-to-weight or have a severe timeline.
What is international air freight shipping?
Air cargo 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, cutting China-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.
Here this page will guide you to air freight, including the advantages, cargo types, a sample airway bill, shipping process, china main airports list and more.
Air Freight Terminology
AWB Air Waybill, is a non-negotiable transport document issued by the carrier (Master AWB) or the agent (House AWB), which indicating that the carrier has accepted the goods listed therein and obligates itself to carry the consignment to the airport of destination according to specified conditions.
IATA International Air Transport Association, which supports airline activity and helps formulate industry policy and standards of the world’s airlines.
ETD: Estimated Time of Departure
ATD: Actual Time of Departure
ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival
ATA: Actual Time of Arrival
ETT Estimated Transit Time is for estimation purposes only and commonly can NOT be guaranteed although most shipments will depart and arrive as scheduled.
Dangerous Goods
Commodities classified by IATA according to its nature and characteristic in terms of the effect of its danger to carrier’s flying safety.
Dimensional Weight
Aka Chargeable Weight or Billable Weight. Carrier charge for freight based on the dimensional weight or actual gross weight whichever is higher.
MOQ ; The MOQ is 45 kgs. The rate class is +45kg, +100kg, +300kg, +500kg, +1000kg. The courier cost less if < 100kg for most destination countries.
Air Freight Advantages
The best thing with air shipment is speed.
In general, the transit time from anywhere is no longer than 10 working days. Only 3~5 days in most cases. This is a vast reduction compared to ocean freight. Nowadays, the fast delivery time alone can make a huge impact on a business niche.
How can I reduce my air freight rates?
Time is of the essence when planning any type of freight service, but this is especially true when it comes to transporting by air. Here are some quick tips to maximize your time and value:
✓ Aim for long-term value. While the lowest rate may seem appealing at first, prioritizing reliability over cost when choosing carriers will pay off in the long run. The biggest costs in your supply chain will come from surprises, delays, and other exceptions. Investing in a reliable forwarder will pay off by saving you the downstream cost of last-minute rush shipments.
✓ Get the full story. Sometimes, low rates come with hidden costs. When comparing options, make sure you’re looking at complete quotes. Ask your forwarder for a complete list of applicable fees, and find out which are included in the base rate, which are quoted up-front, and which won’t appear until time of invoice. Compare your quotes against your invoices to see which fees get added, so you know to factor them in when making a buying decision.
✓ Plan ahead. To avoid paying a premium for next flight out or expedited shipping, reserve space on a freighter as soon as possible.
✓ Defer your shipment. Allowing your lower priority cargo to be shipped “deferred” (adding a few days of transit time) can lower your cost. This option is still faster than ocean freight, and is typically the cheapest air freight solution.
Top 10 International Airports in China
In international air transport, there are standard short name of each airport created by IATA. The airport short name is formed by three capitalized letters for easy recognition.
PEK – Beijing Capital International Airport
HKG – Hongkong International Airport
CAN – Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CA/QR/TK/EY/MS/NH to Middle East and Africa)
PVG – Shanghai Pudong International Airport
SHA – Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport
CTU – Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport
SZX – Shenzhen Baoan International Airport (CA/HU/CZ/MU to Europe and North America)
KMG – Kunming Changshui International Airport
XIY – Xi’an Xianyang International Airport
HGH – Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport
