The specific operation methods for air freight cargo mainly include: scheduled flight transportation, charter flight transportation, consolidated cargo transportation; express delivery by air, cash on delivery, air transportation, etc.
Scheduled flight refers to an aircraft with a fixed schedule, route, departure station, stopover station and destination station. Its biggest advantage is that the time of departure and arrival can be accurately controlled.
Charter flight transportation of air freight cargo refers to the airline or charter agent company, which rents the whole aircraft or part of the cabin to the charterer (cabin) person at a rate agreed upon in advance, and transports it from one or several airports to the designated destination. Generally speaking, the freight of charter flight (cabin) is lower than that of scheduled flight, but the area of activity is smaller.
Consolidated cargo transportation is a way for air freight forwarding companies to combine a number of individually shipped scattered goods into a batch and send them to the airline company for transportation. A shipment summary is filled out and sent to the same destination station. Then the freight forwarding company entrusts the local agent to be responsible for receiving and sorting goods to the actual consignees. The greatest feature of this method is that it can get a lower fare than scattered cargo transportation and reduce the tedious process of the shipper's own cargo handling.
Air express transportation, also known as air express, is particularly suitable for swift transportation of small items such as urgently needed items, medical instruments, valuable goods, drawings and data, key parts, samples, documents, and so on. It meets the needs of fast-paced modern society.
The cash on delivery method is an agreement between the shipper or its agent and the carrier. When the goods arrive at the destination and are delivered to the consignee, the carrier collects the freight of the goods on the air waybill according to the carrier's agreement, and then sends it to the shipper or its agent. This is the service of collecting payment on behalf of the shipper. Air freight, declared value fees, and all related charges must be paid in advance by the shipper or can be paid at the destination by the consignee.
The use of container transportation in air transportation is a trend. However, because the cargo compartment shape of the aircraft is special, containers other than standard containers that can be used in large aircraft cargo compartments need to be used in general, including containers of various sizes, capacities, and shapes. The use of container transportation is mainly to improve transportation efficiency, save packaging, and facilitate circulation.
Handle consignment
Each foreign trade company and industrial and trading enterprise can handle the consignment after preparing the goods, and checking the letter of credit (or after modifying) according to the relevant shipping terms in the letter of credit and contract, as well as filling in the consignment form with the goods name, number of packages, shipment date, destination, etc. and providing relevant documents, which will be submitted to the freight forwarding company as the basis for booking flights.
Arrange the cargo hold
After receiving the consignment form and relevant documents, the freight forwarding company will arrange the cargo hold with the airline company according to the loading principles, nature of the goods, quantity of freight, destination, and other factors, and then the airline company will issue the air waybill.
Loading the goods on the aircraft
The freight forwarding company will transport the goods from the warehouse to the airport according to the flight schedule, and put the goods in the designated cabin by presenting the loading documents.
Issue the air waybill
After the air freight cargo is loaded on the aircraft, the airline company will issue the air waybill, and the freight forwarding company will issue the air waybill. The air waybill has three originals and twelve copies. The first copy is given to the shipper, the second copy is kept by the freight forwarding company, and the third copy is handed over to the consignee along with the goods. The twelve copies are used for customs declaration, financial settlement, foreign agency, transit distribution, etc. Send the shipment notice. After the cargo is loaded, a shipment notice can be sent to the buyer so that the buyer can prepare for payment, document redemption, and receive the goods.