Importing
Air Cargo
Understanding the Process:
Stages of Freighting Air Cargo
Understanding the Paperwork:
Import Documentation for Air Cargo
All air cargo importations are required to include four major components, with additional requirements depending on the goods being transported. Each air cargo shipment must start with:
1. Commercial Invoice / Receipt of Purchase
2. Packing List / Content Details
3. Air Waybill
4. Air Arrival Notice
Each of the four requirements must have at least one document as evidence, but the documentation should accurately reflect the physical shipment. If for example a shipment includes contents sourced from multiple purchases, each corresponding invoice or receipt should be included to document the whole.
For more about import documentation requirements, please check out our dedicated page:
Understanding the Dynamic:
Insights on Air Cargo
Air cargo shipments are usually used for low density or time sensitive goods.
According to the 2020 data from The International Council of Clean Transportation, airplanes are among the lowest cargo-fuel efficiency vehicles. They rank at about 1 ton-mile per gallon; meaning that for each gallon of jet fuel, 1 ton of cargo could go 1 mile equivalence in a plane. Resultantly, the cost of this mode of transport is usually the highest relative freighting method with a significantly high dependency on fuel prices.
Timing seems to be the primary driver for air cargo shipments, whether that time pressure comes from the exporter, importer, or the goods themselves. Perishable goods are an excellent example, when spoilage times are prohibitive for other methods. On-demand supply chains may use air cargo because the cost to source quickly is less than the cost to halt operations without the goods. Some sellers use air shipments to expedite their billing cycles or regulate inventory costs. Others utilize the elevated security environment to lessen their risk of cargo theft.
In most cases, the criticality depends on evaluating time value against the elevated shipping costs.
If the equation derivates toward timing, your cargo may be best suited to become air freight.
Understanding Next Steps:
Let's Work Together on Air Cargo
Pilotfisch Solutions is well experienced with importing air cargo, and we have the solutions experience for spectrum of potential issues in air cargo. In addition to the compliance activities involved with your air cargo's customs clearance, we continue to manage your shipment's logistics so that parasitic costs are avoided, and unavoidable holds are mitigated. Our success depends upon your shipments' successes, and we want each air cargo shipment to succeed!