(Updated: 8 February 2023)
It’s no secret that when it comes to business “time is money”, this applies to almost every aspect of a business’ operations including cargo transportation. When you need to get your cargo from A to Z, the fastest mode of transport often trumps the cheapest, especially if time is of the essence.
This is where air freight comes in, as one of the four largest cargo transportation methods and some may argue the best, it’s perfect for companies wanting to transport high-value, low-volume shipments around the world. With air freight comes global reach, speed, reliability, and accessibility, making it the superior choice when compared to road, sea, or rail freight. But what makes air freight stand out from other freight services?
Let’s take a look at these top 8 benefits of using air freight as your preferred transportation method:
1. Ship your cargo anywhere in the world
You may be asking yourself “doesn’t sea freight also provide global reach?” Well, yes it does but what you’re not considering is that it requires larger amounts of time to transport your cargo from or to various locations via sea freight compared to air freight.
Logistics or freight providers often have access to extensive flight networks, that allow you to ship your cargo to almost any destination around the world or even across the country in a shorter amount of time. Combined with other modes of transport, air freight becomes the lynchpin that connects the most remote areas in the world to suppliers and buyers from every corner of the globe.
The only limitations of air freight access are how far the shipping destinations are from their local airport.
2. The fastest freight transportation option
If you need to transport goods around the world, or within your country, as quickly as possible then there is only one option: air freight. Transporting your cargo by air freight is a faster and more consistent transportation solution compared to sea, rail or road freight options.
With cargo planes travelling in excess of 900km per hour, this means your cargo will arrive in hours compared to waiting days or weeks. What’s more is that air freight’s schedule of departure is typically reliable, with cargo departing every alternate hour. There’s also less chance of cargo loss as the air freight industry has more advanced and stricter security measures.
3. Air freight is highly reliable
When you look at the reliability of other transportation modes, we need to understand that sea freight is controlled heavily on environmental conditions such as weather and tides, road freight is subject to traffic and road laws, regulating conditions, which can affect the drivers ability to transport your goods.
Air freight, however, is not heavily controlled by external factors as mentioned above, and with airlines adhering to strict schedules, this results in reliable departure and arrival times. For the smoothest, easiest, and safest cargo transportation, there is no doubt that air freight is the best option.
4. Air freight is very secure
Unlike other modes of transport such as road or rail freight that have higher risk of cargo damage or theft during transport, airlines and airports offers you a higher level of security. Packing an airplane with people, luggage and cargo is tightly managed by airport authorities and safety is paramount to all of their procedures and policies.
This therefore reduces other risks, like theft, loss, or damage, from occurring in the shipment of your cargo. This makes air freight the most secure mode of transporting cargo.
5. Reduced costs on insurance premiums
The safety and security of air freight shipping benefits more than just your goods that are being transported. It also benefits your wallet when you are trying to protect your cargo during shipping with insurance or transportation coverage.
The high levels of security that airlines are known for will decrease the risk of something going wrong and insurance companies will account for this in their prices. Not to mention, the decreased packing, storage and travelling time means there is less time for any problems to occur and fewer extra costs.
6. Less warehousing
It is important to note that Cargo handlers, Customs clearance, and Cargo inspection are pretty efficient, and a majority of the cargo is cleared simply within a matter of hours. This reduces your need to keep cargo in local warehouses thus saving you money on extended warehousing costs and reduces the stock requirements your company may have at a given time.
7. Simpler packaging
Packing for rail and sea freight transportation can become quite tedious as these modes of transportation can get a little “rough” to say the least. These modes often require you to utilize heavier packaging material, in a specific container, wrapped in a specific way.
Whereas air freight being preferred for high-value, low-volume cargo makes transporting small and medium-sized cargo a much simpler processes, requiring fewer steps in between packing, shipping and arrival.
8. Closely track your cargo
Many years ago, if you ordered something from a different country online or over the phone, you would get a rough estimate of when you could expect your shipment. The same would go for the company you were buying from. The two points of contact that a buyer or seller would know about in the shipping process would be each other’s.
Today, almost every freight forwarding company, airline and postal service will have a web application that allows you to monitor and track your cargo on route to its destination. You can receive updates about when stock is received, cargo is stored at a warehouse or airport, a shipment is in the air, arrived in your city and when you can expect it at your door.
Conclusion
The benefits of air travel are a marvel of the 21st Century and has made air freight an even more reliable, effective and secure mode of cargo transportation. If you are looking for an air freight service provider that can help you take your cargo from A to Z, then contact M6T today.
