Moving goods by air

IntroductionAir Freight/ Air cargo

An air freight carrier that does not own or operate its own aircraft but ships its cargo with actual equipment operating carriers. Consolidators issue house air waybills to their customers and receive master air waybills from the actual carriers.

Cargo airlines (or airfreight carriers, and derivatives of these names) are airlines dedicated to the transport of cargo. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines.

The airfreight industry consists of a number of interdependent commercial organisations, including airlines, express carriers, freight forwarders and customs brokers.

There is some basic information about how the airfreight industry operates, and outlines the requirements and regulations that you - as an importer or exporter - must comply with. Included are notes on customs regulations, packaging, insurance, aviation security screening, freight rate and surcharge costs. This also explains what paperwork should accompany your shipments. After reading this you'll be in a better position to decide if airfreight is an appropriate mode of transport for your business.

Usually Air Freight is charged at the same rate irrespective of the class of goods. There are charged in any one of three ways: weight, volume or value and usual method of quotation is airport to airport.