How to Avoid Looking Like a Newbie When Choosing a Freight Forwarder for Air Freight to Middle East
Do you know how to avoid looking like a total beginner when you talk to a freight forwarder for the first time? Don’t worry. I’ve prepared a few questions for you. Once you ask these, the forwarder will know you’re not easy to fool.
1. The forwarder will ask if your company has import and export rights.
If you do, you can ship normally.
If you don’t, no need to be nervous. You can use a qualified freight forwarder for air freight to Middle East or a foreign trade company as your agent.
Just make sure you know this in advance. Answer confidently, so they think you’re an expert.
2. Where your goods depart from, and which country and port they go to.
For example, if your goods are in Dongguan, you will ship from Guangzhou or Shenzhen.
Make sure you know:
- Is the destination UAE or Saudi Arabia?
- Do you want door-to-door or port-to-port service?
- If door-to-door, what is the exact address?
3. What kind of goods you are shipping, and if there are any special items.
For example:
- If there are wooden products, you need commodity inspection.
- If there are dangerous goods, you need two certificates and one report, plus other detailed documents.
Some goods cannot be consolidated or mixed. If the forwarder knows all this in advance, they can arrange reliable shipping channels for you.
When it comes to dangerous or sensitive goods for air freight to Middle East, be very careful.
Many small forwarders offer high prices to collect goods, then secretly mix them with general cargo, falsely declare the product name, or fake inspection reports to make more money.
So you must choose a reliable forwarder.
What kind of forwarder is reliable? Take our company DL as an example.
We are among the top 5 freight forwarders for air freight to Middle East.
Large forwarders like us operate legally and make profit from large-volume project cargo.
We will never take risks with illegal operations.
There are about 60,000 freight forwarders in Shenzhen, and over 1,000 focus on air freight to Middle East.
More than 95% are just trading companies with no real assets.
They only book space after getting orders, and disappear when problems happen.
Even the better ones only have 2 or 3 pallet spaces per week.
But DL has long-term contracts with 2 major airlines, securing 20 pallet spaces every week — 10 times more capacity.
We pay for these pallets whether we have cargo or not. That shows our real strength.
4. Details of your goods and packages.
- What goods?
- What type of boxes?
- How many pieces?
- What’s the weight?
- Does it contain batteries, magnets, liquids, etc.?
Volume and weight greatly affect the forwarder’s cost calculation.
So know your cargo dimensions in advance.
5. When you plan to ship, and how many days you need for transit time.
Some airlines have unstable schedules.
If you have strict delivery deadlines, you need more reliable airlines like EK.
Only when the forwarder knows your exact schedule can they arrange the right airline and pallet space for you.
After going through all these points, the forwarder will have full details of your shipment.
They will recognize you as a professional, not a newbie.
In most cases, they will be more likely to offer you a good price.