Air Freight Basics: A First-Timer's Guide

International air freight is a chain of tightly linked steps. This guide covers four dimensions — the shipping process, common terminology, how charges are calculated and the types of capacity available — to help you build a working framework before your first shipment.

1. The Air Freight Process: From Inquiry to Delivery

• Inquiry & booking: Provide your forwarder with the product name, HS code, gross weight, volume, carton dimensions, origin and destination airports, and whether the goods contain batteries or liquids. After confirming the rate and cut-off times, submit a shipping instruction to secure space. In peak season, book 3–7 days ahead.
• Packing & labeling: Reinforce packaging to air freight standards; add cushioning for fragile items and secure pallets with stretch wrap. Label every carton with shipping marks (consignor, consignee, piece count, destination). Insulate battery-powered products; lithium batteries require UN-certified packaging.
• Delivery to warehouse or pickup: Deliver the cargo to the airport terminal yourself, or have your forwarder arrange trucking. The warehouse weighs and measures the cargo and runs security screening; large discrepancies will trigger re-rating of the freight charges.
• Export customs clearance: Provide the commercial invoice, packing list, customs declaration and clearance power of attorney; sensitive goods also need an MSDS, UN38.3 test summary, certificate of origin, etc. If not selected for inspection, the shipment is released; if inspected, cooperate with the opening and checking of cartons.
• International mainline: Direct flights are fastest. Transshipment means unloading, sorting and reloading at a hub airport, usually adding 1–3 days, with tracking updated in real time.
• Destination clearance & final delivery: The destination agent declares to local customs; once released, trucking is arranged to the consignee. Signature on delivery completes the shipment.

2. Common Air Freight Terms

Documents

• MAWB (Master Air Waybill): the contract of carriage between the airline and the forwarder; the core document for cargo receipt and delivery.
• HAWB (House Air Waybill): the service contract between the forwarder and the actual cargo owner; the main basis for pickup and claims.
• S/O (booking confirmation): confirms the booking, stating flight number, departure time and space allocated.
• Commercial Invoice / Packing List: core documents for customs valuation and clearance; they must match the actual goods.

Transport & process

• Direct flight: fast and low-risk; connecting flight: broader coverage, possibly lower price.
• Charter flight: an entire aircraft (or part of it) is chartered; guaranteed space for large volumes or special needs.
• Gate In / Load On Board: the two key milestones of cargo handover and loading.

Charging

• Chargeable Weight: the greater of actual weight and volumetric weight.
• GCR (General Cargo Rate): tiered pricing by weight — the more you ship, the lower the unit rate.
• Fuel Surcharge: adjusted dynamically with market oil prices.

Customs & status: Customs Declaration, Customs Clearance, Inspection, Delivery Order.

3. How Are Air Freight Charges Calculated?

The core rule is "whichever is greater": compare gross weight with volumetric weight, take the higher figure as the chargeable weight, and multiply by the route rate.

Volumetric weight (kg) = L(cm) × W(cm) × H(cm) ÷ 6000 (IATA standard; a few air express lines use ÷5000 — a gap of up to 30%, so always confirm the divisor when quoting).

• Light / bulky cargo: volumetric > actual (lamps, plush toys) — charged on volumetric weight.
• Heavy cargo: actual > volumetric (hardware, machinery parts) — charged on actual weight.
• Balanced cargo: when the two differ within ±20%, a "bubble deduction" of 30–50% can often be negotiated.

Total charges = chargeable weight × route base rate + surcharges. Measure and weigh the packed cartons precisely before shipping; mixing heavy and light cargo effectively lowers volumetric weight and saves cost.

4. Types of Air Freight Capacity

By aircraft deck

• Passenger belly: limited capacity, suited to light small shipments; standard and priority space (P1/P2) available, priority costs 10–20% more.
• Freighter main deck: 100–150 tons per rotation, accommodates overlong and overweight pieces; mainly hub-to-hub direct services.
• Freighter lower deck: better floor loading than belly, rates 5–15% below main deck — good value.

By priority: priority space (confirmed, no rollover — for urgent / high-value / perishable cargo), standard space (moderate pricing, risk of cancellation), standby space (lowest price, no time guarantee).

By protection model: loose consolidation (cheapest, rollover risk in peak season), fixed contracted space (long-term allotments — best peak-season value), charter / full charter (fully exclusive, 100% schedule control).

How to choose: small light shipments → passenger belly, standard space; large or overweight pieces → freighter main deck; perishables and pharma → temperature-controlled space; urgent deadlines → priority space or direct freighter.

Further Reading

Back to Knowledge