How competitive is air freight to middle east? A story that will shock you
How competitive is air freight to middle east right now? Let me tell you a real story that will blow your mind. After reading this, think twice before shipping.
A and B both run air freight to middle east delivery lines. They are competitors, but sometimes they share cargo with each other. Once, A gave B a shipment for air freight to UAE. After B received it, they passed the cargo to another company, C. But C is also just a reseller, so they outsourced the shipment again. The funny part? The cargo ended up back with A.
When A was handling the shipment, they realized it originally came from their own company. How did it go full circle and come back? That’s not even the key point. The key point is this was supposed to be a direct flight air freight to UAE shipment. But by the time it came back to A, it had turned into a shipment with a transit stop in Bangkok.
So you can see how messy the freight forwarding industry is right now. People often say freight forwarders are super competitive. Well, when things get to this level, of course it’s competitive! Actually, switching shipping routes like this is an open secret in the industry – for example, changing a direct flight to a connecting flight. That’s still not the worst. If you are really unlucky, your direct flight air freight could be passed from hand to hand, and finally end up inside a regular ocean freight container.
This kind of thing rarely happened in the past, because most people had some basic principles when doing business. But now, with the industry being extremely competitive, companies need profits and customers want low prices. So those principles get broken step by step.
So how do you choose a freight forwarder without stepping into traps? Here is the core. Many people pick a forwarder but still fall into all the usual traps. Minor cases – you just waste money. Major cases – your cargo gets delayed, lost, or held up at customs, directly hurting your business. The key to avoiding traps is not getting fooled by low prices. No matter how tempting the price is, ask about all hidden fees, and get everything in writing. Many forwarders quote low prices to attract customers, then pop up with all kinds of extra charges later: fuel fees, handling fees, remote area fees, customs document fees, and even sudden peak season price hikes.
How to avoid this? 1. Ask the forwarder for a detailed quote, clearly stating what is included and what is not, and whether there is a peak season price increase clause. 2. Ask about charges for unusual situations, like who pays for warehouse rent and detention fees if your cargo is inspected, and the compensation standard for damaged goods.
You might say, that sounds like a real hassle. Finding a forwarder feels like signing a life contract, making your hand shake. That hits the nail on the head. The real core issue is that you haven’t found a reliable forwarder. That’s why you feel you have to use all those terms to control the forwarder serving you.
But let’s cut the nonsense. For shipping air freight to middle east, just avoid the small forwarders in village office buildings. Find a large, established forwarder, and you’ll be fine. Take our company DL as an example. We have nearly 100 employees, and we fully own the entire 8th floor of Rongde Times Square Block B in Longgang District, Shenzhen. We have even shipped electronics worth 40 million RMB for Huawei. If Huawei has already paved the way for you, what is there to worry about?