Getting quotes for air freight to the Middle East? Why the cheapest isn't always best.
Ali had some electronic parts to ship via air freight to the Middle East. You know how they say you should shop around? Well, Ali got quotes from several freight forwarders. He told me: "Some offer lower prices than yours. You're not the cheapest." And he's right. Freight forwarders are everywhere, and quotes vary wildly. But why haven't those super cheap companies grown big? Actually, they tend to disappear faster.
Think of it like eating out. You can get a meal for 20 RMB at a roadside stall. But a decent restaurant might cost 200 RMB. Yet, why do those roadside stalls change owners so often? Simple. The service and quality are different.
It's the same with air freight to the Middle East. Different levels of freight forwarders offer different levels of service. High-value cargo needs good air freight service. Cheaper isn't necessarily better. Price and service go hand-in-hand.
When I explained this to Ali, he wasn't totally convinced. He asked, "Okay, what different service do you actually provide?"
I told him: "Look, we've handled shipments for Huawei worth 40 million RMB – electronic factory equipment, similar to your parts. High-value stuff like this needs stability and reliability first. Promised transit times must be met. Huawei doesn't just pick any freight forwarder. They visit your office, sign contracts, do background checks, look for major lawsuits... We passed all that. That's why Huawei trusted us."
For high-value electronics going by air freight to the Middle East, transit time was Ali's biggest concern. We've been in business since 1998 – 27 years in freight forwarding. We started by finding cargo space on the market. Now? We operate our own dedicated air freight to Middle East routes. Actually, we run two dedicated lines to ensure speed and handle large shipments.
1. Guangzhou/Shenzhen direct to UAE: We have 30 fixed air cargo pallet spaces per week on scheduled flights. Sure, others have dedicated lines too, but many only manage a few pallets per week. We average 6 pallets per day. And that's not all...
2. Guangzhou/Shenzhen via Beijing to UAE: This runs every single day, Monday through Sunday. Meaning, every single flight heading to the UAE has our reserved pallet space on it. This setup creates a big gap between us and others.
For air freight to the Middle East, clients need speed. For example: 40 tons of cargo, must arrive at the UAE warehouse in 3 days. Not a day more. Most forwarders can't guarantee that. Because we lease our pallet space directly from the airlines. We decide what cargo goes on them. So, when urgent shipments like that 40-ton load come in, we can free up space immediately. Smaller forwarders get space indirectly; they don't have that control or efficiency.
Another worry is airlines offloading cargo. We can't control if an airline does this. The key is: if our cargo gets bumped, do we have a solid backup plan ready? Also, airlines prioritize who gets bumped. Smaller forwarders, with weaker airline relationships, are often the first considered. We have strong partnerships; our cargo is rarely the first choice for offloading.
I showed Ali many of our past air freight to Middle East case studies. Specific examples, like delivering to Dubai in 72 hours, shipping a 15-ton heavy turbine rotor, handling sensitive cargo... After seeing these, Ali was convinced and satisfied. He decided to give us this shipment.