Air freight making a comeback

The world of sea freight has been turned upside down recently with the fallout of various situations; the pandemic, the Suez Canal blockage, port congestion and lack of containers and rising container costs. It means that air freight is becoming more popular as shippers and buyers try to find more cost-effective ways to get cargo between destinations in times that suit their business needs. Air freight has traditionally been more expensive in recent years due to the smaller holds that freight planes have and the amount of cargo flights that are on certain trade lanes per week. It is often used by shippers with smaller shipments of high-value goods, foodstuffs, flowers and urgent consignments. Year-on-year growth According to Iata, the Air Freight governing body, growth in air cargo volumes rose by 18.7% year-on-year, which is the best annual performance since they started tracking numbers in 1990. There are some obvious reasons for this – there was high demand for various items of medical equipment and PPE that needed to be in hospitals or medical facilities quickly for example. It also helped that prices that had been quite high for some time due to issues with space onboard aircraft, now dropped as more passenger flights were leaving that had space available for freight. However, it can be said that this was not utilised to its full potential as airfreight companies have had their own issues to deal with regarding labour shortages, airport congestion and quarantining crews between landings. A positive outlook for 2022 and beyond In 2022, air freight is steadily increasing after worries about air space around Russia and Ukraine; the airlines have rallied quickly to ensure that times and trade lines are not as affected as time goes on. There’s also been a strong demand for inventory restocks for brands trying to get back into the swing of things after two years of working differently, and people are relying on air freight to get their warehouses restocked quickly. Working with air freight So how quickly can you get your goods if you do send them via air freight? Most airlines work on between a 48-hour to ten-day service, depending on where it’s going and flight times etc., as well as if it has to stop over at other airports along the way. Most sea freight vessels (depending on trade lane) operate on a 7-day, from America, to a 30–45-day service from the Far East and Southeast Asia. Whilst airport congestion is still happening, it is less likely to hold up cargo for any more than 2-3 days. Air freight is more reliable and can be safer than sea freight with fewer damages being caused on flights than during rough sea crossings and flights are often more likely to take place as planned whilst vessels can sometimes miss ports out due to time constraints. At Metoni, we pride ourselves on working with customers to give them the very best rates and customer service and air freight is no exception. We’ll help arrange collection of the cargo to the airport and delivery at destination as well as handling the paperwork and customs clearance. We offer import and export services, and our highly trained staff can help you decide if air freight is the right option for you. Want to get your cargo moving in the right direction? Call us today on 0114 442 0216 and speak to our air freight team.

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