Sportswear to Middle East: Which forwarder delivers to Dubai in 3 days?
Fatma urgently needed to ship 500 sets of high-tech microporous sportswear via air freight to Middle East. Her store shelves were almost empty – she couldn't wait any longer. The shipment had to reach Dubai within 3 days. Her company kept pressuring her, and she was stressed out.
She contacted me immediately. Why? Because last year, I handled an urgent shipment of high-end robes and headscarves for her. Back then, many forwarders couldn't secure flight space and wouldn't take the job. I got it done, delivering to her Dubai warehouse in under 4 days. That's why she came back to me this time.
It was already noon on May 19th. The goods were still being packed at the factory in Dongguan. After quickly confirming details with Fatma, I activated our emergency plan. The critical step? Locking down flight space for the very next day.
We are a primary carrier for air freight to Middle East, operating two dedicated routes:
1. Guangzhou/Shenzhen direct to Dubai: 30 flight spaces weekly, Monday-Friday daily flights.
2. Guangzhou/Shenzhen via Beijing to Dubai: Daily flights, Monday-Sunday.
This means we have guaranteed flight space to Dubai every single day. If an airline bumps cargo ("offloads"), we have backup options ready. That's the key reason Fatma chose us. While many forwarders offer air freight to Middle East, very few operate two dedicated routes like we do.
First, I secured space on the next day's midday direct flight from Guangzhou/Shenzhen to Dubai. Once confirmed, I dispatched a dedicated truck for a direct pickup at the Dongguan factory. The 500 sets arrived at our warehouse by 4 PM. Our ops team checked the cartons and labels. Due to the factory rush, many labels were unclear or damaged. We reprinted them immediately.
By 6 PM, the cargo was at the airport. I had all the necessary shipping documents prepped and ready. We handle large volumes daily – cargo movement and document prep are routine. So, no mistakes. Procedures went smoothly. The flight took off the next afternoon and landed at Dubai Airport just 8 hours later.
So, why do many forwarders avoid such urgent orders? Shenzhen has 60,000 forwarders; over 95% are small teams of about ten people. Their model: get orders first, then try to book space with bigger carriers. We're different. We lease our own flight space – we control it. That's a huge efficiency advantage.
Next critical phase: Speed at destination (clearance & delivery). Operating air freight to Middle East for years, our local clearance/delivery team has over 20 years of experience. We have 50+ trucks and hundreds of staff. Crucially, we work directly with customs officials. For sensitive goods needing inspection, we communicate upfront about our shipments. This often cuts inspection time from the usual 2-3 days down to same-day clearance and pickup. Many competitors ask us for help with this!
Similarly for Fatma's shipment: We had all clearance docs prepared in advance, avoiding delays. Customs clearance took just 2 hours on the third day by lunchtime. The goods were collected and brought to our overseas warehouse. We then arranged dedicated delivery, getting them to Fatma's specified warehouse that very afternoon.
