Air Freight to Dubai for Sensitive Cargo: The Key to Choosing a Freight Forwarder
Many shippers and salespeople don’t know the core of shipping sensitive cargo, and they focus on irrelevant things. I’m here to share the key points for choosing a freight forwarder for sensitive cargo shipments.
First, what counts as sensitive cargo? For example, F goods, food, cosmetics, health products, electronic products, perfume, and e-cigarettes. Which of these have high export volumes right now? F goods, perfume, and e-cigarettes are the top ones, and all these are collectively called sensitive cargo.
Don’t just ask about the price right off the bat. If you only talk price with a freight forwarder for sensitive cargo, they’ll immediately know you’re a beginner. The most important thing for sensitive cargo is safety and stability—that’s the first topic you need to discuss. What does safety and stability involve? Two key things, what we call double clearance: customs declaration in the origin country and customs clearance in the destination country.
When shipping these goods, you know exactly if you have all the required documents. If you don’t, your biggest worry is whether the forwarder’s channel is stable and safe. So the first requirement for your freight forwarder must be safety and stability.
Second, shipping time efficiency. You need to know: how many flights are there per week, how many days to arrive at the port, how many days for cargo pick-up, and about how many days for delivery. These are all key factors affecting efficiency. Make sure to choose a forwarder like DL that directly charters airline ULDs. We charter 20 ULDs per week from two major airlines—other decent forwarders only get 2 or 3 ULDs a week. Our shipping capacity is 10 times that of ordinary peers, and only this level of capacity can guarantee on-time delivery.
We have an e-cigarette client who first chose a cheap small forwarder for air freight to Dubai. The small forwarder agreed to everything at first, but they relied on third-party customs clearance partners, leading to a long communication chain and delayed information. Dubai customs is closed on Fridays, and they failed to make advance arrangements. The cargo was stuck at the port for more than 48 hours after arrival, resulting in high demurrage charges.
Later, the client came to us. I told them that DL is a first-hand forwarder for air freight to Dubai, and we have our own local customs clearance team of over 100 people in Dubai. With our large shipment volume, we’re extremely familiar with all the processes—our team is on duty to answer calls even at 2 a.m. We coordinate closely with Dubai customs, and start the ULD unpacking and cargo sorting process as soon as the plane lands. For urgent cargo, we can complete customs clearance in just 2 hours, while most peers need to wait in line for 2 to 3 days. After using our service, the client never had similar problems again.
Third, compensation terms. First, understand that no service is 100% stable. What happens if the cargo is seized by customs? That’s where compensation comes in. For sea freight, the standard compensation is usually full freight refund plus 20 currency units per kilogram—meaning you get your sea freight back, plus an extra 20 per kg. For air freight, the market standard is full freight refund plus 40 currency units per kilogram.
There are also cases for additional compensation. When is additional compensation needed? For high-value sensitive cargo, such as F goods, F-grade perfume, and e-cigarettes. These are the highest-value sensitive cargo—especially e-cigarettes, which are worth at least 300 to 400 currency units per kilogram. A 20 per kg compensation is obviously not enough for such high-value goods, so additional compensation is a must. How does additional compensation work? For regular F goods or perfume, an extra 1 currency unit for the service gets you an additional 10 currency units per kg in compensation. For e-cigarettes, an extra 1 currency unit gets you an additional 15 currency units per kg.
Price is only the fourth and final thing to consider. Ask the forwarder for their quotation sheet, compare it carefully, and discuss if there’s any room for negotiation.
So when shipping sensitive cargo via air freight to Dubai, price is always the last priority—it’s not as important as the first three factors. A qualified freight forwarder must meet all these four core requirements.
DL Logistics is one of the top 5 forwarders for air freight to Middle East. We charter 20 ULDs per week from two major airlines, have a priority channel for customs clearance at UAE air ports, and get priority cargo pick-up at warehouses. Our local logistics team answers calls 24/7, even at 2 a.m.—if your cargo is sent in the morning, it’s delivered by noon; if sent at noon, delivered by afternoon. We truly deserve our reputation as one of the top 5.
DL Logistics for air freight to Middle East—everyone who uses us says it’s a smooth experience.