Air Freight Cargo Shipping Service
As a full-service freight forwarding company, Current International Air Freight’s air transit services provide transportation of goods around the globe.
We represent you throughout the process and protect your goods throughout the journey.
We do that by focusing on your specific requirements and customizing our services to provide you with everything you need. With longstanding relationships with airlines, brokers, and partner freight agents, we can handle everything from same-day shipping for urgently-needed supplies to transporting oversized materials that require special handling.
And, of course, Current’s air freight services include a high level of security to reduce your shipment’s exposure to theft and damage.
Whether you are moving full containers, truckloads, or something in between, Current will work with you to develop a solution that best meets your unique needs.
Because we know we aren’t just delivering goods.
We deliver success.
Click the button to submit a quote, or contact us directly at sales@current-intl.com
International Air Freight Shipping You Can Trust
The Current Air Freight Advantage
- Experienced Customs Compliance
- Secure Facilities and Transportation
- Reliable Deliveries around the Globe
- Customizable Services to Meet Your Needs
The Benefits of Using A Licensed Air Freight Forwarder
Using an air freight shipping service licensed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) is recommended for the following reasons:
Compliance
Experienced, licensed air freight shipping can handle every requirement, from packing containers to submitting customs declarations. They reduce the risk of delays and product loss.
Shippers and freight carriers must satisfy all relevant international shipping laws and procedures, as well as import restrictions, to successfully complete the delivery. If they fail to do so, they may face fines, and their products can be seized.
Security
Licensed air freight forwarders protect your cargo by following Transportation Security Administration (TSA) mandates. They also pre-screen third parties, minimizing the chance of theft, loss, or other security-related issues with your shipment.
Importers are responsible for ensuring that goods and cargo brought in under their authority are kept secure while in transit and that the documentation accurately describes the merchandise. Failure to comply can result in fines as well as seizure and destruction of the shipment.
Experience
Licensed air freight shipping providers have mastered every aspect of the air cargo carrying process. For example, they’re trained to know when to use a Unit Load Device (ULD), a container designed for use in aircraft, and how to ensure ULD’s safe use.
Shippers may also be responsible for damage to the aircraft if their goods or the ULD weren’t properly handled. ULD misuse results in $330 million in damages annually, and almost all of it is preventable.
Cost-Savings
Experienced, licensed air freight forwarders ensure that your shipment is a seamless, uninterrupted process. They eliminate downtime caused by a missed transfer.
Air cargo shippers are responsible for the transportation and coordination of all these movements. One forgotten transfer, or a missed payment to a temporary storage facility, is all it takes to result in a lost shipment.
Using a Trusted Air Freight Shipping Service
When and Why You Should Choose Air Freight
Air freight is the transportation of products and other goods to their destination by an air carrier. It includes commercial or privately-chartered airplanes that are wholly or partially dedicated to the movement of cargo.
Air freight is usually more expensive than sea or ground transportation, but there are distinct advantages along with the increase in cost.
With 3,200 airports and 60,000 trade lines around the globe, air freight is the premier option for landlocked destinations. But geography only explains a small part of air freight’s appeal.
If measured by goods’ volume, airplanes move less than one percent of the world’s trade yearly. However, if you measure the goods by the dollar value of what’s being transported, airplanes transport 35 percent of the world’s trade—a whopping $5 trillion a year—while 80% of cross-border e-commerce sales are shipped by air.
That says a lot about air freight. More than location, it’s about the types of goods being transported and the shipper’s need for transporting them.
If the value of your goods is predicated on getting them to the destination quickly and securely, there’s no comparison.
When it comes to speed, security, and reliability, air freight wins.
Speed
Air freight usually can reach its destination within 24-48 hours. Worldwide, it takes just an average of 1.6 days for products sent by air to clear customs and be handed over for delivery. By contrast, ocean freight can take months to reach its destination, and it can take weeks more for goods to clear customs and be discharged for pick-up.
Security
Air freight is less likely to be stolen or damaged during transit. Access to the aircraft and the goods themselves is limited and heavily supervised. At the same time, air freight has tighter tracking and inventory controls. By contrast, sea freight may sit largely unsupervised for weeks and be more impacted by weather and sea conditions, making it more vulnerable to damage, loss, or theft. And in the worst-case scenarios, cargo ships may become the targets of piracy and global conflict.
Reliability
Air freight is more reliable than other transportation. The plane is tracked during the entire journey, so there’s never any mystery about the goods’ location or delivery status. The only likely hold-ups are due to weather or maintenance, and these delays are typically measured in minutes or hours. Storms, sea lane congestion, and port backlogs can impact shipping by sea, each resulting in unpredictable and extended delays.
The Air Freight Process
Since Current offers our customers full-service air freight, you can contact our sales team, tell us what you want shipped and when, and how quickly you need the deliveries. Then we will take care of the rest.
But it’s still useful to be familiar with the basic steps involved in successful air freight. These include preparing the shipment, the transportation itself, and then delivery.
Here’s how it works:
1. Preparation of the shipment
- Scheduling of the shipment
- Packing the goods to be transported
- Calculating the chargeable weight of the shipment, i.e., the higher amount of weight, based on the gross weight and the volumetric weight
- Preparing the air waybill and other necessary documentation relating to the shipment (e.g. commercial invoices, declarations relating to country of origin)
2. Transporting the shipment
- Transporting the goods to the origin airport warehouse
- Clearing customs inspection for the exportation of goods
- Loading cargo onto the aircraft, either in a ULD or as “loose freight” (items not shipped within ULDs)
3. Delivery
- Unloading the cargo from the plane
- Storing the cargo in the arrival location warehouse
- Clearing customs (at the destination country) for the importation of goods—including the presentation of documents and the payment of any necessary duties)
- Completing delivery by transporting the goods to the consignee’s location via rail or road transportation
Special Cargo Requires Special Care
Air freight is particularly useful for “special cargo,” Special cargo includes perishable goods, dangerous cargo, pharmaceuticals, and live animals. Air freight is uniquely suited to handle this type of cargo.
Given that speedy delivery is a leading advantage of air freight, senders frequently use air freight to transport perishables (e.g., fruit, vegetables, and flowers), pharmaceuticals, and live animals.
Another advantage that air travel offers these goods is that air freight can provide them with a client-specified climate. With ULDs, it is possible to fly goods within digitally-controlled temperatures.
Ultimately, the speed and consistent environment mean that these products arrive at their destination in better condition, with less waste due to spoilage and other issues.
Dangerous goods (also known as restricted articles, hazardous materials, or dangerous cargo) describe those items that, when transported, may endanger either an airplane’s crew or the plane itself. Dangerous goods are even more vulnerable to mishandling or theft, dangerous goods—which often consist of chemicals, lithium batteries, or electronics.
Therefore, these products also benefit from the speed and defined consistency of travel, even as they may require additional precautions. But licensed freight forwarders and their associates know how to transport even these items successfully, and dangerous goods now make up more than a third of all special cargo shipments.
Contact Us
Give us a call at 424-422-1308 or click the button below to fill out our quote request form.