Other Advantages of Air Freight

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In addition to the earlier advantages listed, the following additional services are offered by air cargo agents:

Door to Door Delivery

As there are many landlocked countries, such as Nepal, Laos, Switzerland, Austria, Mali and many more in the former Soviet sub-continent, air transportation has provided new access into these countries for international trade. The air cargo agents also provide door delivery service for those customers that may require them.

Arranging Customs Clearance

With the Just in Time (JIT) concept, some users prefer that the goods move from the shipper's door to the consignee's door under one contract, thus the need for the air cargo agents to arrange Customs clearance of cargo.

Insurance Coverage

More and more users of air cargo services are going for a package of services. In view of this, the carriers have always provided for insurance coverage on their own where one may declare a "value for carriage" and then a premium ls levied by the carrier in case of eventualities occurring while the goods are in transit to the final destination.

Nowadays, many air cargo agents have also undertaken the role of an insurance agent and provides coverage for marine and liabilities risks.

Advice of Packing Problems

Air carriage may accept less packing material to save the weight (as air cargo is charged by weight in Kilogram) it is however not wise to over reduce the packaging material as well as some goods may have to transit more than one airport prior to the arrival at the final destination.

Most air cargo agents are even trained to provide advice on the packaging for Dangerous Goods (DG) of all classes.

Documentations

This is a large and important field where the IATA cargo agent backed by the world wide organization can render most valuable services in knowing the required documentation in each country.

The air cargo industry is moving speedily into the world of paperless documentations through the use of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) of which the air carriers are amongst the most advance compare to carriers of other modes of transportation.

Conclusion

In the highly competitive world of modern business there exists pressure to constantly,
  1. reduce costs to maximize the use of working capital,
  2. increase sales turnover,
  3. improve customer service,
  4. delivery on time, everytime, continue relentlessly.
Air freight is no longer a means of transportation to be used in emergencies or when costs are unimportant. On the contrary it is very often the most economical and advantageous means of transportation and distribution for a large section of the shipping public.

Today, no alert businessmen can afford to not to explore the potential of utilizing air freighting. Air travel has a profound influence on the tempo of modern business, but air freight can achieve more in terms of economical and successful marketing.

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