How to Balance Safety, Price and Speed When Shipping Air Freight to UAE?
As a foreign trader shipping air freight to UAE, you probably care about three things most: safety, speed and price. How can we balance these three factors well?
1. Safety
When sending air freight to UAE, safety always comes first.
If your goods are not safe, even the fastest speed and lowest price mean nothing. Once the cargo is lost, everything is wasted.
Especially be careful with some small freight forwarders. They have no local resources at the destination and just hand your goods to a third party. They cannot really control the safety of your shipment.
2. Speed
When you can choose between fast and standard services, the fast channel is usually better. Fast cargo movement is the key.
For air freight to UAE, there are two options: direct flights and connecting flights. Their prices are different. If you want speed, choose direct flights.
3. Price
Don’t go for the lowest price, and don’t accept the highest either. A fair and reasonable price is enough.
Chasing only low prices will only lead to cuts in service quality. You will end up losing more than you gain.
When asking for a logistics quote, provide as many details as possible.
Based on that information, a professional freight forwarder may not give you the cheapest plan, but the safest, most reliable and most cost-effective one.
We have talked about choosing between price, safety and speed. Now, how do you choose a reliable freight forwarder? What makes a trustworthy forwarder?
Signs of a Reliable Freight Forwarder
1. Before shipping, they sign a contract with you. They confirm every detail carefully and arrange everything properly.
The quotation lists all charges clearly, no hidden fees and no extra charges after picking up the goods.
2. During transportation, they update you on the status and monitor the whole journey.
If any problem happens, they solve it immediately.
For example, our team is available to answer calls even at 2 AM. Speed is our top priority.
3. When the cargo arrives at the destination port, a dedicated staff follows up.
If anything unexpected happens, they solve it actively to avoid extra fees at the port.
I have a lot to say about this.
The key to guaranteed speed for air freight to UAE is not the main flight, but customs clearance and delivery at the destination.
Small forwarders have no local resources. They mostly pass the goods to other companies and earn a small difference. They cannot control the speed; it all depends on others.
Some better forwarders have local delivery teams, but the result is similar. During peak season, waiting 2–3 days for customs clearance is common.
At DL, we have large cargo volume and a good relationship with local customs. We work closely with customs.
Urgent goods do not need to wait in line; they can use special channels.
As soon as the plane lands, we start unloading and sorting. Customs clearance and pickup can be finished in just 2 hours.
This step alone shortens the total time by about 2 days.
In fact, the price from small forwarders only works if nothing goes wrong during the whole trip. They can hardly take any risk.
The quotation from an experienced forwarder is more than just shipping cost. It also includes a promise on speed and the ability to solve problems if something goes wrong.
In short, big forwarders like DL offer fixed and clear charges.
Through our local resources and experience, we take the transportation risks from you. That makes the whole air freight process predictable and secure.
This is the real reason why you should choose a reliable large forwarder like us for your air freight to UAE.