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When the truck cannot make the date.

Sometimes the truck cannot make the date. When that happens we arrange air through licensed forwarders and handle the trucking on both ends.

When it is worth it

When air is worth it

Air freight costs many times what a truck costs. It is worth it in three situations: the date is worth more than the freight, ground physically cannot make it, or the freight is small and high-value enough that the density makes air less punishing than it looks.

When it is not: anything heavy, anything low-value per pound, and anything where two extra days of transit costs less than the air premium. We will tell you when a truck is the better answer.

How this works

We arrange the air move through a licensed forwarder, and we handle the trucking on both ends: pickup to the origin airport, and airport to final destination. We do not operate aircraft, and we do not file customs entries on international air. Those are separate licenses and we coordinate with the parties who hold them.

What you get is one number to call, and somebody tracking the handoffs so a shipment does not sit at an airport because two vendors each thought the other had it.

01

Next flight out

Hours, not days. For true emergencies, where the cost of the freight sitting is larger than the cost of flying it.

02

Next day

One business day. Urgent but planned, which is the most common reason freight flies.

03

Second day

Two business days. Fast but not frantic, and materially cheaper than next-day.

04

Deferred and consolidated

Three to five days. Cheaper air, still faster than ground on a long lane. Worth pricing before you assume air is out of reach.

05

Trucking at both ends

Pickup to the origin airport and airport to the receiver. This is the part we do ourselves, and it is where most air shipments actually lose time.

What we need to quote

Weight and dimensions of every piece, the commodity, origin and destination, when it has to arrive, and whether it is hazmat.

Dimensions

  • Air prices on chargeable weight, so size matters as much as scale weight.

The date

  • When it has to land, not when you would like it to.

Hazmat status

  • Air hazmat rules are stricter than ground. Some materials cannot fly at all.

What we arrange

01

Airport to airport

Booked through a licensed forwarder. You or your consignee handle the trucking at each end.

02

Door to airport

We collect from your dock and tender it at the origin airport, on the cutoff.

03

Airport to door

We recover at the destination airport and run it to the receiver.

04

Consolidation

Combining shipments where the timing allows, which brings the rate down on freight that does not need its own booking.

05

Door to door

Everything from pickup to final delivery on one number and one invoice. This is what most shippers want.

06

Customs coordination

We coordinate with your customs broker so the entry and the freight are sequenced. We do not file entries ourselves.

07

Charters and project moves

Arranged through forwarders and operators when the freight will not go any other way. Tell us the dimensions and the date.

08

Dangerous goods

Some hazmat flies under stricter rules than ground, and some cannot fly at all. Send us the UN number and the packaging and we will tell you before you plan around it.

Why air moves
go wrong

  • The handoffs, almost always

Air freight rarely fails in the air. It fails on the ground, at the two handoffs, where the trucking company and the forwarder each assume the other is watching. That is the part we take responsibility for.

What we watch

  • The cutoff
Missing an airline cutoff means the next flight, which may not be the same day. We build the pickup around the cutoff rather than around the pickup.
  • The recovery
Freight sitting in a recovery warehouse after it lands is the most common single cause of a late air shipment. We book the delivery leg before the freight departs.
  • The paperwork
An air waybill that does not match the commercial invoice holds the shipment on arrival. We check them against each other before it flies.
  • The exceptions
If a flight rolls or a piece is short-shipped, you hear it from us. That is the whole reason to have one number to call.

Industry affiliations

The bodies we work with and through

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smartway
nmfta
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FAQ

Common questions
about air freight

The ones we get asked most often.

When the delivery date is worth more than the cost difference, when ground physically cannot make it, or when the freight is small and high-value. For heavy or low-value-per-pound freight, ground is almost always the better answer even with a couple of extra days.

On chargeable weight, which is the greater of actual weight or dimensional weight. Dimensional weight converts volume into a weight equivalent, so light bulky freight prices on its size rather than its scale weight. That is why dimensions matter as much as weight when you ask for a quote.

Some can, under stricter rules than ground, and some cannot fly at all. Quantity limits are tighter and packaging requirements are more demanding. Send us the UN number and the packaging and we will tell you whether it flies before you plan around it.

Need it faster than a truck?

Piece dimensions, weight, and the date it has to land. We will price air and ground side by side so you can see the difference.

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