How to Get a Low Price for Air Freight to Dubai When Asking a Freight Forwarder?

If you ask for air freight to Dubai by just saying, “How much for my shipment to Dubai?”—then sorry, the forwarder will know you’re new and might overcharge you.

Here’s how to ask like an experienced shipper so the forwarder will give you a good price. Just three points: what you’re shipping, where it’s going, and how much you’re shipping.

1. What you’re shipping.

Include your product name and material.

This helps check for anti-dumping duties and extra fees in the destination country.

Also provide box size and weight to avoid overweight or oversize charges.

2. Where it’s going.

Prices are different from city to city, just like domestic shipping.

Don’t only give the country—provide the full delivery address.

This shows if the location is remote or an island, so we can calculate the exact cost.

3. How much you’re shipping.

One box and 100 boxes will have different prices.

With the exact number of boxes, the forwarder can plan consolidation and weight balance for better service.

If you can’t remember all that, you can save this text, screenshot it, and send it to 100 freight forwarders to get quotes.

But be careful: not all “low prices” are real. Some are just traps.

Some sellers get quotes for air freight to Dubai that are way below market price—even lower than direct forwarders with space and board positions.

Some freight companies only handle sensitive cargo: incomplete certifications, trademarked goods, medicines, and more.

Do they have special connections with customs? No.

These sensitive goods are usually shipped under false declarations.

These companies charge you double or more for shipping.

In real operation, they can’t fill an entire board with sensitive goods—it’s too easy for customs to find problems.

So they mix in regular goods, hide them outside, use wrong product names, fake dangerous goods certificates, remove warning labels, and other risky methods.

If customs don’t inspect strictly, the shipment passes.

If they do inspect, your regular goods will be trapped: destroyed, fined, or sent back.

Now let’s talk about destination customs clearance.

Different forwarders have different local resources.

Even the same goods can have different clearance times.

Bigger forwarders usually have stronger local connections and better clearance ability.

For example, DL Logistics is one of the top 5 air freight providers to the Middle East.

We have large shipping volumes and years of experience. We have priority lanes at UAE airports.

We clear goods much faster. For urgent cargo, we can finish customs clearance in 2 hours.

Most other forwarders can’t do this—they often wait 2–3 days.

This is our special advantage from local resources and experience.

Many clients choose us because of our strong customs clearance ability.

So when you book air freight to Dubai, don’t choose forwarders with abnormally low prices.

There must be a hidden risk.

The international logistics industry is very mature.

Operation costs don’t differ much between companies.

Even with high efficiency, the cost difference is only about 5%.

If you see a price 20%–30% below the market, stay away.

If something looks too good to be true, it probably is.