Tips When Choosing Air Cargo Service

The definition of air cargo service is simple. It is simply the extra advantages that a cargo transportation service will offer to their customers. Many of these companies have a large list of services that they offer, depending on the type of airline. If a company is responsible for transporting passengers, then their service list will look different than that of a company involved in transporting goods.

Each company decides what services to offer to its customers. Some companies offer more services than others. Services offered to passenger airlines can include: baggage handling, ticket verification, skycap, unaccompanied minor escorts, wheelchair services, and many more. Services offered as part of freight shipping services can include things such as, road feeder services between different airports and airport to inland container depots, air cargo clearance centers, centers for perishable cargo, and warehousing for bonded and non bonded air cargo.

Another important service for these companies is document control. If documents for it are not always one hundred percent in line, then things are much more likely to go wrong. A good air cargo company will ensure that all the documents for their cargo are in order.

With the increased safety requirements imposed on this industry and the world in general since 2001, it has been harder and more expensive to ship goods by air. Containers can only be a certain size, weight limits are different, only so many toxic materials can be sent on a plane at once; it is astonishing how many new restrictions the industry has received since then. With these newer restrictions on cargo airlines, it is more important than ever to choose a company that offers reliable air cargo service options to the client, for whom they are hauling cargo.

A very important service that a cargo airline should offer is the service of air cargo tracking. Being able to track a shipment, and knowing where it is at any given time is invaluable to the business or company that is shipping the goods. Knowing what fees are charged for what goods is also important before picking a shipping airline. Additionally, it is extremely important to be aware of what goods are legal to ship through the air and which are not. A cargo agent will usually handle these kinds of issues if the business has one employed.

It is important when choosing a cargo airline to ensure that they give appropriate air cargo service. The little extra features that a company offers can really make the difference between a pleasant shipping experience and a horrible one. Also, always be aware of the airport security laws, what is legal to ship by air, and what type of containers are necessary to ship certain goods by air. Good companies will aide you greatly in these decisions.

Visit Mike Selvon portal for more information on air cargo service, and leave a comment at our air freight services blog. Don't forget to claim your FREE gift.

Learning About Air Cargo Carriers

If you want to do business with air cargo companies, then it is necessary to be informed about the different types of air cargo carriers that they might be using. There are many things to learn about cargo planes; things such as, how much space each plane has, what kind of prices are charged when shipping using the planes, what kinds of planes they use, and many other things. With all the information available, it is good to know at least a little about cargo airlines and their operations.

Air transport is essential to manage and control the flow of goods, energy, information, and other vital resources needed for commerce and other types of services. Without air cargo services, it would be impossible to do any kind of global trading, import/export processes, or repositioning of raw materials and products, unless using the services of ocean freight.

Air transport has also streamlined several business processes, such as making it easier to receive information, the speed of transportation, faster exchanges of inventory, and many others. There are many different kinds of cargo planes out there. Some of these include the Boeing 707, Douglas DC-8, Ilyushin Il-76, and Douglas DC-3. Some air cargo companies are starting to modify turboprop planes to be used as cargo carriers as well.

The Boeing 747-400 is one of the most often used air cargo carriers. It can hold most types of cargo with ease and has an area available to hold around 26,000 cubic feet of freight and/or cargo. While these planes are used to move most types of cargo, when larger payloads need to be transported, even bigger cargo planes are used by the air cargo companies.

These super transporters can carry around 47 tons of freight, but believe it or not, there are even bigger cargo planes. The largest cargo plane is the Antonov AN-225 and it is used to haul items, such as helicopters or tanks. It is very useful in this application as it can hold around 250 tons.

Now you know a little something about air cargo carriers that you might not have known before. It is interesting to find out the importance of something that you might not otherwise think about.

It is also very important for a freight shipping company to know all this transport information to run their businesses. Now, whether you are looking to ship something by air cargo, gain a position at a cargo airline or perhaps answer trivia game questions, you will have some of the answers.

Visit Mike Selvon portal for more information on air cargo carriers, and leave a comment at our air freight services blog. Don't forget to claim your FREE gift.

Future Growth of Air Freight in the World Markets

As we study the future of world markets, we see a very nice future for air freight. By 2025 we will most likely see an 85% increase and that will mean converting older aircraft and retrofitting them. And it will mean good things for Boeing and Airbus.

I expect many current aircraft flying passengers and taken out of capacity as this current sector rotation rounds out (fuel prices will increase that) and new more efficient aircraft come onto the scene. I predict that 66% of the growth will come from conversion of current passenger aircraft while there will be 33% new aircraft which do not require pilots at all. Flying freight around the world.

This will mean a market of over 170 Billion in retrofits and new aircraft for people like Pimco and Timco and others. If you look at these numbers you can see a future for laid off aerospace workers from Everett, Wichita, Dayton, Long Beach and other locations. With these aging aerospace workers it will most likely mean a need for newer entrants into that labor force. We would also say that 40% of such growth would be to service North America and her growing middle class as they partake in products from world markets.

With this increase we could expect the current 1700 plus air freight fleet to grow to over 3200 by 2025. Although these are long-term predictions they do account for normal cycles such as 15 year cycles or 2-3 year economic cycles. Also GE will benefit along with component makers of aircraft parts.

Even with the competition from Airbus we will see factories on US soil as well as components being made in other Asian markets, meaning the entire world will benefit from this sector in the next two-decades.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington

New Advances for the UK Air Freight Industry

As with so many other sectors, it seems that the future of freight forwarding is online. The internet has long been hailed for the convenience it offers. It is therefore perhaps unsurprising that the UK air freight industry has decided to explore the potential it offers by introducing new electronic processes.

E-freight, as it is being called, is all about replacing traditional paper documents with electronic ones for the transportation of cargo. The aim is to streamline and simplify air fright forwarding. Using electronic processes will of course also offer considerable cost savings.

In the short term, the companies taking part in the trial will actually lose rather than save money. This is because they will have to run electronic and paper processes in conjunction with one another. However, in the longer term, using e-methods will cut down on the considerable amount of paperwork required for air freight transportation.

The other advantage of using electronic documenting methods is that there is less room for error. It also helps cut down on the level of administration required. In fact, it is expected that billions of pounds could be saved in terms of administration costs alone.

Of course e-ticketing is already widely used by passengers traveling around the world. Most people now arrive at an airport with an ‘e-ticket’ that they have printed off their home or work computers. As a result airlines do not have to send out paper tickets in advance of travel which costs them money and of course run the risk of getting lost in the post.

In fact over 90% of all passenger tickets issued in the UK are electronic (although this figure is much higher for some carriers) and they cost the airlines considerably less than paper tickets. The average paper ticket costs an airline £5 whilst an e-ticket only costs it 50 pence!

GBS Freight runs an air freight forwarder service and also transports cargo around the world by sea and road.

Air Freight - Give Your Package The Room To Fly

Was it really so long ago when flying was still a novelty. What am I saying, there are people walking around this earth that don't have a clue about cooking on a stove, so how could they ever conceive of a time without flight. So humans wanted to fly, and even though they were born without wings, that was just a minor detail that they would eventually overcome. Eventually the airplane became a reality, and not only that, but time and technology made it possible for other people to ride the plane besides the pilot. But humans are restless, and began thinking of other ways to use the air plane.

One of the ideas for using a plane, was to allow them to carry freight. History was made in November of 1910, when a department store shipped a bolt of silk by air from Dayton to Columbus, Ohio. This was considered the first demonstration of air freight. In 1919, American Railway Express used a converted bomber to ship 1100 pounds of freight from Washington, D.C. to Chicago; unfortunately, the radiator froze and the plane had to land in Ohio, but that didn't stop the company from continuing to use planes as a way to move their freight. In the late 1920s, many airlines were known to be freight carriers. The invention of air freight was great for American business, not only did it allow them to get parts and merchandise quicker, but the speed of the process meant that businesses didn't have to keep as much inventory on hand.

As with any great idea, the early stages of the air freight industry saw tremendous growth. In 1927, only 45,000 pounds were shipped, but by 1931, that number had grown to over one million pounds a year. Although there were some attempts at organizing the air freight industry early on, the first commercial airlines that were all cargo did not happen until after World War II. In March of 1941, the top four airlines; United, American, Eastern and TWA formed Air Cargo, Inc., to deliver freight. Air Cargo operated during most of the war, and continued on until 1944. Near the end of the war, many of the airlines, including TWA and United, decided to start their own independent air freight services.

Many small plane operators wanted to join the air freight industry, but they weren't welcomed. The big airlines made it clear that they didn't want the small plane operators in the business. The big airlines believed that the small plane operators would make the industry unstable; plus, they really didn't want any competition. There were a few small plane operators that tried, but practically all of them fell by the wayside. But there was one small plane operator that survived, its name was Flying Tiger. Flying Tiger was owned by Robert Prescott, who was a "Flying Tigers" pilot during the war. Flying Tiger was able to survive because it delivered both civilian and military freight. During the 1960s, Flying Tiger became the largest air freight airline in the country.

Despite great hopes, especially after a tremendous start, the air freight industry wasn't growing as expected. It wasn't until the 1980s that someone tried to put a new spin on air freight; and that person was Fred Smith. Fred didn't believe the way the air freight industry was doing business was efficient or good for business and he opened up his own air freight business in Memphis, and named it Federal Express. A major plus for customers who chose Federal Express, was that they offered guaranteed next-day delivery. Within ten years of operations, Federal Express reported revenues of one billion dollars. In 1989, Federal Express bought Flying Tiger. The two companies were merged together to create the world's largest full-service all cargo airline.

Today, Federal Express is joined by United Parcel Service, which got its start back in 1907, as two of the more trusted and reliable air freight delivery services.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Air Freigh

Air Freight - Give Your Package The Room To Fly

Was it really so long ago when flying was still a novelty. What am I saying, there are people walking around this earth that don't have a clue about cooking on a stove, so how could they ever conceive of a time without flight. So humans wanted to fly, and even though they were born without wings, that was just a minor detail that they would eventually overcome. Eventually the airplane became a reality, and not only that, but time and technology made it possible for other people to ride the plane besides the pilot. But humans are restless, and began thinking of other ways to use the air plane.

One of the ideas for using a plane, was to allow them to carry freight. History was made in November of 1910, when a department store shipped a bolt of silk by air from Dayton to Columbus, Ohio. This was considered the first demonstration of air freight. In 1919, American Railway Express used a converted bomber to ship 1100 pounds of freight from Washington, D.C. to Chicago; unfortunately, the radiator froze and the plane had to land in Ohio, but that didn't stop the company from continuing to use planes as a way to move their freight. In the late 1920s, many airlines were known to be freight carriers. The invention of air freight was great for American business, not only did it allow them to get parts and merchandise quicker, but the speed of the process meant that businesses didn't have to keep as much inventory on hand.

As with any great idea, the early stages of the air freight industry saw tremendous growth. In 1927, only 45,000 pounds were shipped, but by 1931, that number had grown to over one million pounds a year. Although there were some attempts at organizing the air freight industry early on, the first commercial airlines that were all cargo did not happen until after World War II. In March of 1941, the top four airlines; United, American, Eastern and TWA formed Air Cargo, Inc., to deliver freight. Air Cargo operated during most of the war, and continued on until 1944. Near the end of the war, many of the airlines, including TWA and United, decided to start their own independent air freight services.

Many small plane operators wanted to join the air freight industry, but they weren't welcomed. The big airlines made it clear that they didn't want the small plane operators in the business. The big airlines believed that the small plane operators would make the industry unstable; plus, they really didn't want any competition. There were a few small plane operators that tried, but practically all of them fell by the wayside. But there was one small plane operator that survived, its name was Flying Tiger. Flying Tiger was owned by Robert Prescott, who was a "Flying Tigers" pilot during the war. Flying Tiger was able to survive because it delivered both civilian and military freight. During the 1960s, Flying Tiger became the largest air freight airline in the country.

Despite great hopes, especially after a tremendous start, the air freight industry wasn't growing as expected. It wasn't until the 1980s that someone tried to put a new spin on air freight; and that person was Fred Smith. Fred didn't believe the way the air freight industry was doing business was efficient or good for business and he opened up his own air freight business in Memphis, and named it Federal Express. A major plus for customers who chose Federal Express, was that they offered guaranteed next-day delivery. Within ten years of operations, Federal Express reported revenues of one billion dollars. In 1989, Federal Express bought Flying Tiger. The two companies were merged together to create the world's largest full-service all cargo airline.

Today, Federal Express is joined by United Parcel Service, which got its start back in 1907, as two of the more trusted and reliable air freight delivery services.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Air Freigh