The terms freight or cargo refer to the transportation of goods from one place to another, but the meaning of air cargo has a much broader meaning and can also be applied to the transportation of goods by road, sea, rail and air. Air cargo planes carry anything that can be bought or sold. You can ship almost anything by air - letters, packages, cars, horses, construction equipment and even other aircraft. Air transport is faster than maritime transport, without a doubt.
Ocean shipments can sometimes take weeks to arrive while air transport can reach your destination in just one or two days. Package delivery by air transport is the transfer and shipment of goods through an airline, which can be chartered or commercial. These shipments leave commercial and passenger aviation gateways to anywhere where planes can fly and land. At Christmas time, air transport is especially busy due to last-minute shopping.
When evaluating whether air or ocean transportation is the best option to meet your current transportation needs, there are several factors to consider. Air transport has seen exponential growth as an industry during the expansion of networks and commercial markets over the past 40 years and is now considered an efficient means of carrying out domestic and international shipments. One of the main differences between air cargo and air freight is that cargo can travel on passenger planes in the form of baggage, while air transport cannot. Robinson says it's the scale to consolidate air and maritime transport with others for greater profitability.
The advantages of air freight include express shipping options which make it a valuable option for coordinating urgent shipments to almost anywhere in the world. Customs brokerage companies can determine the most reliable and cost-effective way to use air freight options to coordinate corporate or individual deliveries of packages or shipments. It's important to choose a 3PL that has the scale necessary to consolidate your air and sea cargo with that of other carriers for greater profitability. Air freight is billed using the chargeable weight, which is a metric calculated by combining the weight and size of the shipment.
Both air and sea transport have advantages that must be taken into account before choosing one or the other. When considering the cost of the modal shift to air freight, keep in mind that freight costs are only one component of the equation. Air cargo is the term used for goods that are shipped by air, usually through an air cargo service or a third-party logistics provider. Air transport was widely used as one of the main delivery options in import and export in the early 20th century.
