How Much Does Air Freight Cost?

We are often asked “how much does Air Freight cost?”. The answer may surprise you, as small commercial shipments can work out cheaper on Air Freight Charges than Sea Freight. The reason for this is that Sea Freight has a minimum charge charge of 1 tonne, whereas Air
Freight minimum charges are typically 20 kilos.

What Is The Chargeable Weight For Air Freight?

You may ask “What Is The Chargeable Weight For Air Freight?”. If you are wondering what this means, all modes of transport have a chargeable weight, normally set by convention. For air freight it is 6000 cubic centimetres per kilo, so for example a shipment that has a volume of 60000 cubic centimetres would have a chargeable weight of 60 kilos. If the shipment has a gross weight of 30 kgs, you would be charged as if it where 60 kilos. For Sea Freight the chargeable weight is 1 cubic metre / tonne whichever is greater, so the allowance is only one 6th of that for Air Freight.

Therefore Air Freight Shipping is much more generous for large volume / low weight shipments, which will probably come as no surprise as weight = extra fuel burn = extra costs.

Is Air Freight More Expensive Than Sea Freight?

This is a tricky question! There are so many variables at play when it comes to Air Freight charges that each situation and requirement is different. Air Freight charges depend on the volume vs dead weight, and then on how much is being sent. There is a cross over point on the economics of shipping by air or by sea that depends on these factors, also considering the origin and destination. It really is not straightforward!

As an example, it is often cheaper for us to send the same shipment of goods by air to Hong Kong than it is to Israel, but Sea freight is the other way around.

There are many examples like this. K&L Freight deal with these situations daily and can work out the most cost effective way to get your goods from point A to point B, often sending part loads by air, and the remaining stock by sea so that it you have enough product to get going, but don’t pay the full air freight price for all of your goods.

Please email or call K&L Freight for help and advise.

What Are The Air Cargo Types?

If you do decide to use Air freight you may ask “What Are The Types Of Air Cargo?” You may be surprised to know that most air freight travels on passenger services.

The reason for this is that most passenger services have spare capacity in their hold, with passenger bags only taking a fraction of the space. As the passengers are largely paying for the flight this has led to Cheap Air Cargo rates – far cheaper than a pure cargo plane can offer.

Cargo Aircraft are now mainly used for overflow traffic on busy routes or urgent courier freight that does not fit passenger airline schedules. Occasionally it is used for moving Dangerous Goods By Air that are prohibited in law from being loaded on passenger flights.

If you are looking for a company to guide you through the most economic was to send air freight or Sea Freight consult the experts, K&L Freight.

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