Why knowing the difference might get you out of a bad situation
When compared with sea freight, all air freight is perceived as express. However, did you know there are two different speed levels, express and priority?
Standard air freight
Sometimes called “express”, this is a reasonable compromise between speed and cost. Shipments are consolidated in order to minimize expenses and allow shippers to guarantee a fixed rate per kilogram.
This way you can deliver from Asia to Europe in about a week, as opposed to several weeks with maritime or rail transport. It is fast enough to tackle most minor delays on regular routes.
Priority air freight
In contrast, “priority” or “premium” air freight is designed for the most urgent shipments. Its primary purpose is to maximize the chances of delivering the shipment at the earliest possible time.
All necessary means will be used to achieve this – using available cargo space on regular passenger flights to minimize transport time; delivering to and from the airport by dedicated express van; booking the shipment under a unique LTA as Must-Go cargo (highest priority level to access the flight). In addition, special care is taken with export and import procedures, and operations will run at night and weekends if necessary. All this cuts the total shipping time between Asia and Europe to only two to three days door to door.
Therefore, priority air freight can save you two to five days transit time door-to-door on an international shipment from Asia or to North America compared with a standard solution.
“But urgent shipments are expensive!”
Indeed, emergency air freight can be costly. However, have you asked yourself how much late delivery costs? According to the American Automotive Association, every minute of stopped car production line costs around 20,000 EUR.
So you can work out how much you can save with priority air freight!
Storing our phone number is free
Priority air freight solutions do not cost anything if you do not use them. Therefore, saving the number of a reliable emergency freight specialist such as Air Time Critical® in your contacts is a free and reassuring backup – you’ll be able to react swiftly the day an emergency does happen.
Every logistics manager should subscribe this free insurance to effectively ward off the crisis lurking round the corner.
Air Time Critical®, a freight forwarder specializing in urgent air freight can advise you without obligation whenever you have to face a supply chain crisis with one of your supplier or customer based abroad.
Present in France, Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovakia and active in Spain, Germany, United States, Mexico, China, Asia and India, Air Time Critical® is able to offer you rapid transport solutions and door to door internationally.
Do not hesitate to consult us for your most urgent international transportations for a quick response and a turnkey solution.