On this page
What an air freight forwarder does
An air freight forwarder arranges air shipments on your behalf without flying the aircraft. It buys space from airlines, prepares the cargo and documents so the airline will accept them, moves the cargo to and from the airports, and wraps the customs, security and delivery steps into one booking. The airline’s contract runs airport to airport; the forwarder’s runs from wherever the cargo is to wherever it needs to be.
Airlift USA has arranged air freight alongside its ocean freight since 1999. It is an FMC-licensed NVOCC and freight forwarder (OTI license 016162), C-TPAT certified, listed in IATA’s CargoLink directory as an IATA cargo agent, and a TSA-regulated Indirect Air Carrier for exports from the United States.
What happens to an air shipment, step by step
- Booking space. Choosing the airline, routing and flight against your hand-over date and the cargo’s dimensions, weight and any special handling, then confirming the booking and the airline’s acceptance cut-off.
- Pickup and export handling. Collecting the cargo from the factory or warehouse, checking piece count, weight and dimensions against the packing list, and tendering it to the airline or ground handler in time for the cut-off.
- Consolidation and the air waybill. Smaller shipments from several shippers are grouped under one master air waybill issued by the airline to the forwarder, with a house air waybill issued by the forwarder to each shipper. A shipment large enough to travel alone moves on its own master air waybill.
- Export clearance and security. Filing the export declaration at origin, arranging the security screening the airline and the departure country require, and, for exports from the United States, meeting TSA’s Known Shipper and screening rules before cargo can fly.
- Advance data for US Customs. For imports, the Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS) data and the air manifest are transmitted to CBP before the flight, so the shipment is risk-assessed while it is still in the air.
- US customs entry. The entry is filed through a licensed customs broker: HTS classification, valuation, duty deposit and any partner-agency data. Airlift coordinates the file, and the duty estimate, before the aircraft lands.
- Recovery and delivery. Collecting the cargo from the airline’s import warehouse once CBP and the airline have released it, then trucking it to your door or a distribution center, with the milestones reported as they happen.
What Airlift’s air freight service includes
Airlift’s own offices in Los Angeles, New Jersey, Chennai, Ho Chi Minh City, Dhaka and Phnom Penh, and its agent network across South and Southeast Asia, handle the origin side; US customs entries are coordinated through its licensed customs-broker network. A booking covers:
- Routing planned around your deadline, with the flight confirmed before the cargo is collected.
- Consolidated, airport-to-airport and door-to-door options on the Asia–US lanes, arranged through Airlift’s own offices at origin.
- Documents prepared in-house: house air waybill, shipper’s letter of instruction and export declaration, with the commercial invoice and packing list checked against each other before the cargo is handed to the airline.
- Security screening compliance at origin, and Known Shipper and screening arrangements for cargo leaving the United States.
- US customs entry coordinated through the licensed broker network, with duties, tariffs and the Merchandise Processing Fee estimated before departure.
- A person checking each milestone: departure, arrival, customs release and delivery are checked and reported to you, whether or not the airline’s tracking updates.
- Final-mile trucking from the gateway airport, arranged by the same team so the cargo doesn’t sit in storage after release.
Air freight service types
Airlift arranges six kinds of air shipment. Which one fits depends on how much is moving, how urgent it is, and where you want to hand the cargo over and take it back.
- Airport-to-airport. You deliver the cargo to the origin airport and collect it at the destination airport. The usual choice for pallets and larger consignments, and for shippers who already have trucking and customs arranged at both ends.
- Consolidated air freight. Your shipment is grouped with others under one master air waybill and travels on its own house air waybill. It costs less per kilo when a full pallet isn’t justified, but it waits for the consolidation’s cut-off. Sample sets and small re-orders normally travel this way.
- Door-to-door. Factory pickup, export clearance, the flight, the US customs entry through a licensed broker and delivery to your warehouse, under one booking and one point of contact. What most importers ask for when they have no set-up at the gateway airport.
- Expedited and charter. When a scheduled service cannot meet the date, Airlift quotes the next available departure or charter capacity through its commercial and charter airline partners. Used for line-down parts, launch stock and oversized pieces that do not fit a scheduled freighter.
- Sea-air. Ocean for the first leg and air for the second, through a transshipment hub. Faster than ocean all the way and cheaper than air all the way; worth asking about when the deadline is tight but not urgent.
- Perishables and temperature-controlled. Flowers, seafood and pharmaceuticals move under the handling protocols the airline’s cool-chain product requires at each transfer point. They are booked as temperature-controlled from the start, so the right equipment is reserved at origin, in transit and at destination.
How air freight is priced: chargeable weight
Air freight is charged per kilo on the chargeable weight of the shipment, which is the greater of its actual gross weight and its volumetric weight. Volumetric weight is the space the cargo takes up converted into kilos at the IATA standard of 6,000 cubic centimeters per kilo: length × width × height in centimeters, divided by 6,000. A carton measuring 100 × 80 × 60 cm that weighs 40 kg has a volumetric weight of 80 kg, so it is billed at 80 kg. Dense cargo such as machine parts pays close to its actual weight; light, bulky cargo such as boxed apparel or lamps pays for its volume.
So two shipments of the same gross weight can be quoted very differently, and packing density is the one variable you control. Vacuum-packing garments, removing hangers or shipping goods knocked down instead of assembled can bring a shipment from volumetric weight back to actual weight before any rate is discussed.
What an air freight quote is made of
Airlift quotes each of these charges on its own line, so you can compare two routings, or air against ocean, like for like.
Swipe sideways to see every column →
| Charge | How it is calculated | Applies to |
|---|
| Air freight | Per kilo on chargeable weight, usually stepped by weight break (the per-kilo rate falls as the consignment gets heavier). | Every shipment |
| Fuel surcharge | Per kilo, set by the airline and adjusted with fuel prices. | Every shipment |
| Security surcharge | Per kilo, set by the airline to cover screening and security handling. | Every shipment |
| Origin charges | Pickup, export clearance, terminal handling and air waybill fee at origin. | Door-to-door and consolidated shipments |
| Destination charges | Import terminal handling, document release and airline storage once free time is used. | Every import |
| US customs entry | The licensed broker’s entry fee, plus a bond where the importer has no continuous bond on file. | Every import |
| Duties, tariffs and MPF | Paid to CBP on the value of the goods, not the freight. No Harbor Maintenance Fee on air cargo. | Every import |
| Delivery | Trucking from the gateway airport to your door, by pallet count or weight and distance. | Door-to-door shipments |
Air freight is quoted by inquiry, normally within one business day, against the cartons, weights and dates you send us; the rate search on this site covers ocean FCL only. Check which weight you’ll be billed on first.
US air freight gateways and the lanes Airlift serves
Pick the US gateway closest to where the goods are going, not the one closest to the origin. Most international air cargo into the United States lands at a handful of airports; Airlift’s Los Angeles and New Jersey offices sit at the two coasts’ main gateways and arrange the trucking inland from there through contracted carriers.
- LAX · Los Angeles. The West Coast gateway for transpacific cargo from China, Vietnam, Southeast Asia and India via hub connections; e-commerce, apparel and electronics for Southern California distribution centers.
- ORD · Chicago O’Hare. The central gateway for the Midwest, with freighter services from Asia, India and Europe; industrial parts, machinery and retail replenishment for inland distribution.
- JFK / EWR · New York and Newark. The East Coast gateway for India, Bangladesh, Europe and the Middle East; fashion, pharmaceuticals and high-value goods for the Northeast, served from Airlift’s New Jersey office.
- DFW · Dallas–Fort Worth. The South-Central gateway for Texas and the neighboring states, with direct freighter services from Asia; electronics and industrial cargo.
- ATL · Atlanta. The Southeast gateway, served largely through passenger-belly capacity; automotive parts, perishables and retail cargo for the region’s distribution centers.
- MIA · Miami. The gateway for Latin America and the Caribbean and for perishables such as flowers and seafood; used where cargo from Asia is bound for Florida or transshipping south.
Origin gateways by lane
Each lane guide has an air freight section covering its gateways, transit ranges, the steps from pickup to delivery and what typically moves by air on that corridor.
Swipe sideways to see every column →
| Lane | Origin gateways | Lane guide |
|---|
| China to USA | Shanghai Pudong (PVG), Guangzhou (CAN), Shenzhen (SZX), Beijing (PEK, PKX), Hong Kong (HKG) | Air freight from China to the USA |
| India to USA | Delhi (DEL), Mumbai (BOM), Bengaluru (BLR), Chennai (MAA), Hyderabad (HYD), with Ahmedabad (AMD) and Kolkata (CCU) for Gujarat and East India | Air freight from India to the USA |
| Vietnam to USA | Ho Chi Minh City (SGN), Hanoi (HAN) | Air freight from Vietnam to the USA |
| Bangladesh to USA | Dhaka (DAC) | Air freight from Bangladesh to the USA |
| Thailand to USA | Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK), connecting through a regional hub or on freighter services | Air freight from Thailand to the USA |
| Cambodia to USA | Phnom Penh (PNH), connecting through a regional hub | Air freight from Cambodia to the USA |
| USA to India | JFK/EWR, ORD, LAX, DFW and ATL into DEL, BOM, BLR, MAA and HYD | Air freight from the USA to India |
How long air freight takes
On the Asia–US lanes Airlift serves, airport-to-airport transit is typically 3–5 days on direct services and longer where cargo connects through a hub; door-to-door delivery usually completes in 5–10 days once pickup, export handling, US customs clearance and final-mile trucking are included. Cambodia, which has no direct freighter service to the United States, runs 4–8 days airport-to-airport. These are planning ranges from Airlift’s shipment history, not guarantees; the flight schedule at the time of booking governs.
The flight is the short part. The total is set by everything around it:
- Consolidation cut-offs. A consolidated shipment waits for the next consolidation to close, which may be days apart on thinner lanes. A shipment that misses the cut-off waits for the next one.
- Screening and acceptance. Cargo must be screened and accepted by the airline before its cut-off, typically hours before departure; oversized pieces and temperature-controlled cargo take longer to accept.
- Hub connections. Cargo that connects through Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei, Bangkok or a Gulf hub can wait for space on the onward flight, especially in peak season.
- Customs holds. A document mismatch, a partner-agency review or a CBP exam adds days. Filing the entry before arrival with documents that agree with each other is the single biggest time saver.
- Weekends and holidays. Airline import warehouses and brokers keep reduced hours at weekends and on public holidays in both countries; a Friday arrival often clears on Monday.
- Peak-season capacity. Before Golden Week, in the October–December run-up to the holidays and around Lunar New Year, space is booked out well ahead. Dhaka’s cargo village is capacity-constrained from October to December every year.
Air freight documents and compliance
Air needs fewer documents than ocean, but the deadlines are shorter: the file has to be complete before the flight departs, not before a vessel arrives.
- Air waybill (AWB). The contract of carriage and receipt for the goods, issued by the airline (master air waybill) to the forwarder and by the forwarder (house air waybill) to each shipper. Unlike an ocean bill of lading it is not negotiable and does not transfer title. The AWB number has 11 digits: a 3-digit IATA airline prefix, a 7-digit serial number and a check digit, which is the serial number’s remainder when divided by 7. The master number is what the airline’s tracking recognizes; for the house number, ask the Airlift team handling the shipment.
- Commercial invoice and packing list. Seller, buyer, a plain-language description of each item, quantity, value with currency, terms of sale and country of origin on the invoice; cartons, pieces, weights and dimensions per line on the packing list. They must agree with each other and with the air waybill, because the entry is filed from them while the cargo is in the air.
- Shipper’s letter of instruction. Your written instructions to the forwarder: consignee, notify party, routing, declared value, whether to insure, and the export-control and EEI details. It is what the house air waybill and the export declaration are prepared from.
- Dangerous goods: not accepted by air. Airlift does not book dangerous goods by air. Anything classed as dangerous goods under the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations needs a Shipper’s Declaration for Dangerous Goods, UN-specification packaging and hazard labels, and goes through a dangerous-goods specialist instead. Check before you send the cartons: lithium batteries are Class 9 dangerous goods, including batteries packed with or contained in equipment, and so are many flammable liquids, aerosols, magnetized materials and compressed gases. If you are unsure whether a product is regulated, ask before booking and we will tell you whether we can move it.
- TSA screening for exports from the United States. Known-shipper status is how a shipper’s cargo qualifies for passenger aircraft under TSA’s program, and cargo bound for passenger flights is screened before it is handed to the airline, either by the airline or at a TSA-certified cargo screening facility. TSA requires aircraft operators, foreign air carriers and Indirect Air Carriers to run these Known Shipper programs under their TSA-approved security programs. Airlift operates as a TSA-regulated Indirect Air Carrier, so a first-time US exporter is set up as a known shipper under its security program before the first booking, and screening is arranged as part of the booking.
- ACAS and the air manifest for imports. Under 19 CFR 122.48b the inbound air carrier, or an eligible filer such as the forwarder, submits Air Cargo Advance Screening data to CBP as early as practicable and no later than before the cargo is loaded onto the aircraft. Under 19 CFR 122.48a the carrier’s air manifest must reach CBP no later than four hours before arrival, or by wheels-up for flights from nearby areas such as Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
- No ISF on air. The Importer Security Filing (19 CFR part 149) applies to cargo arriving in the United States by vessel. Nothing equivalent is filed by the importer for air cargo; ACAS, filed by the carrier or forwarder, is the advance-data requirement for air.
- EEI through AES for exports. Electronic Export Information is filed in the Automated Export System when the value of the goods under any single Schedule B or HTS number exceeds $2,500 per shipment, or when an export license is required; shipments at or below that threshold per classification number are exempt (15 CFR 30.37(a)). The Internal Transaction Number is annotated on the air waybill before tender.
- Duties follow the goods, not the mode. The HTS rate, Section 301, Section 232 and any other tariff measure in force apply to an air shipment exactly as they would to the same goods in a container, and the Merchandise Processing Fee is charged on air entries. The Harbor Maintenance Fee is not: it applies to port use, so air cargo does not pay it.
When to choose air freight over ocean
Air wins on time and predictability; ocean wins on cost per kilo and on anything bulky. It is rarely all or nothing: most shippers fly the part of the order that is late or valuable and ship the rest.
Swipe sideways to see every column →
| Ocean | Air |
|---|
| Transit, Asia to USA | China 11–48 days, Vietnam 22–60, Thailand 28–57, India 31–60, Cambodia 22–48, Bangladesh 45–58, by port pair. | 3–5 days airport-to-airport, 5–10 days door-to-door on direct services. |
| Pricing basis | Per container (FCL) or per cubic meter / metric ton (LCL). | Per kilo on chargeable weight, the greater of actual and volumetric. |
| Suits | Full production runs, heavy or bulky goods, furniture, anything with a lead time to spare. | Samples and approval pieces, launch stock, replenishment that missed a sailing, line-down spares, pharmaceuticals, high-value electronics. |
| Advance security filing | Importer Security Filing by the importer or agent, 24 hours before loading. | ACAS by the carrier or forwarder before loading; no ISF. |
| US fees | Merchandise Processing Fee and Harbor Maintenance Fee. | Merchandise Processing Fee only. |
| Time to get the file right | Weeks of transit to collect documents and fund duty. | Hours: documents complete before departure or the cargo waits on storage. |
| Inventory cost | Weeks of stock in transit and a larger safety stock at destination. | Days in transit, so less working capital tied up and smaller buffer stock. |
A rule of thumb: fly the goods when their value per kilo is high, or when missing the date would cost more than the freight difference. Ship them when they are bulky, low in value per kilo and not urgent. For the middle ground, use sea-air or an expedited sailing.
