There are a lot of things to love about air freight shipping. For more than a century, airplanes have been responsible for helping transport people and cargo around the globe at all times of the day and night. Air international shipping has become an increasingly popular method of distribution for every product category and industry.

The Top Seven Advantages of Air Freight Shipping

Here are the top seven benefits of air freight shipments.

1. Speed

Ask anybody and they will tell you that the fastest way to ship a product somewhere is via airplane. It is as simple as that. There is no way for anything shipped on land or sea to match the speed of an airplane. So, if you need to get a product overnight to Paris from your warehouse in New York, the only possible way is through the air. Aircraft are exceptionally good at carrying perishable and time-sensitive items to their destination when the need is greatest. There is a higher cost associated with this speed, but there are several ways throughout the process to make up some of that difference.

2. Reliability

Coming in a very close second place in the top seven benefits of shipping products by aircraft is just how reliable aircraft are. There are hardly any delays in shipping as a result, with the vast majority of flights arriving and leaving on time. These rigid schedules are a key benefit of the airline industry because you are able to know when the next shipment will be taking place. So, if your product is bumped, you can quickly make arrangements. This also allows your shipping partners on the ground to reliably know when to expect your freight.

3. Security

A unique benefit of shipping by air is the extra security benefits that can’t be matched by ground or by sea. One of these benefits that will save you money, as reflected in your air freight quote, is that the flight goes from one city to the next, regardless of international borders. This allows the sender and receiver to know that fewer people are handling your package along the way. And the shipping cost should decrease because the package has to clear customs fewer times.

Another benefit is the fact that it will be going by the airline. In the past two decades, there have been many additional security measures put into place for aircraft and at the airports where these planes depart and land. These new security measures dictate who can come on and off the airport grounds and how the freight is secured within the airplane. A sneaky way that this can save you money is through your packaging. In the aircraft, everything will be securely fastened, allowing you to spend less on the packaging to cushion your product. Everything is done to keep your items as safe as possible, both in the air and on the ground.

4. Easy To Track

A side benefit of the advances in airport and airplane security is the increased emphasis on tracking all aircraft. For many commercial airlines, this means that your loved ones can see when you departed and what time you are expected to land. This same idea applies to packages sent through the friendly skies. In the same way that you can track where your freight is while airborne, your customers will know when to expect their shipment. Many aircraft are even equipped with a GPS tracker that you can follow along as it is in the air.

5. Flexibility

One of the unparalleled benefits of freight being shipped on an airplane is the flexibility this creates. For example, an aircraft is easy to divert if a shipment needs to be sent elsewhere. This also allows the airliner the ability to divert if it is needed to pick up additional packages. But another form of flexibility is just as important.

A huge benefit of shipping products by air is that you can match the size of the aircraft to the dimensions of your freight. So, if you have a smaller delivery, you won’t need to wait for a larger aircraft. Or if you do need to make a large delivery across international borders, a huge cargo airplane might be exactly the thing for the job.

6. Lower Insurance Costs

Another great reason why delivery via aircraft is good is that the insurance costs for shippers will be lower. This is another sneaky way to make back some of the extra cost of shipping by air.

There are two main reasons why insurance costs less for air shipments:

The first reason is due to the amount of time that an aircraft shipment will take. To send something via the air is quicker so there will be less opportunity for an item to be lost or stolen. This decreases the risk for everybody involved, leading to lower costs.

The second reason why insurance rates are lower for freight via aircraft is due to the security at the airport. The people who are employed at an airport have to go through much more rigorous background checks than many other positions. There are security cameras and guards everywhere to monitor all movement around the airport. It is simply much more difficult to orchestrate a theft and there are fewer opportunities for products to get lost during the flight.

7. Locations

As has been alluded to several times throughout this list, the number seven benefit of shipping via airplane is that it is a direct flight. This direct link allows you to get much closer to your destination than if you were traveling over cargo boats. And unlike tractor-trailers that have to rely on the highway system, aircraft can fly in a straight line to their destination. This can also prevent you from having to use warehouses to store product that needs to be redirected.

If you are ready to take your product to the sky, contact the shipping and logistics professionals at Diversified Transportation Services. We have the partnerships and experience to manage your aircraft shipping company needs. Contact us today for more information on how we can help you get air freight shipping done right.