Air Freight

Air freight is the shipment of goods through an air carrier. The biggest advantage of transporting goods by air is the short delivery time. Just like the commercial or passenger airlines, air freight flies in the same gateways. Mostly, passenger flights also have goods on board.

Air freight can be a great solution when a delivery has to be very efficient! Especially using a direct service, will often be one of the fastest options for delivery. Air freight is charged on weight as opposed to volume, therefore shipping smaller goods by air can be a valuable option. Furthermore, the goods are less likely to be damaged with air freight, compared to for example sea freight. One of the other great things about air freight is how easy it is to track the shipment! Knowing exactly where the goods are, can give the client great peace of mind.

Specialized logistic companies contribute to solving the equation of complicated supply chains, and thereby control vast and varied amounts of goods. These include airports, trucking companies, security companies, freight forwarders, handlers, customs, container suppliers, systems management sales and marketing departments, airlines and sales agents.

There are different ways to organize air freight. One example is Consolidated Freight, which means one flight is container multiple shipments. Another way to do air freight deliveries is Back to back or Direct Services, where the flight only contains a single shipment. This is typically the case with passenger flights and shipping combined. Another example of how to organize freight is Charter Services. This means that an entire freight plane is chartered for a single air freight delivery!

Most commonly, air freight is arranged by an experienced Freight Forwarding Agency. Freight Forwarders are connected with other companies covering sea, air or road to transport goods on behalf of their clients. Usually, the Freight Forwarders are the professionals making sure of a smooth and timely delivery, living up to all the client’s specific expectations.

Freight forwarders are key for a lot of businesses, since shipping process mistakes can be expensive and ultimately cause delay of important goods. Therefore, great knowledge and expertise of importing and exporting processes is a great value for a lot of business!

Working in air freight means managing and controlling different types of operations. This planning and execution requires excellent communication and organizational skills. People working in air freight often travel a lot and experience an exciting and challenging work environment.

A career in air freight often starts after studying, for example, logistics or being a trainee in Air logistics. After getting your first experience in entry-level positions, for example as Forwarding Clerk, you will start gaining operational experience and processing orders. Through working with operational tasks, as for example Air Freight Expedient, you get in-depth know-how of air freight, and your career path is going towards either becoming an expert in your niche, could be as an Air Freight Customs Specialist or Product Manager, or gaining more responsibility in your field, as Department Manager Air Freight or Teamlead Air Freight.