What's the Difference Between Freight Forwarders With and Without Fixed Space in Air Freight to Middle East?
What's the difference between freight forwarders that have fixed space and those that don't in air freight to middle east services?
First, let's talk about fixed space. It's a long-term contract signed between an airline, a charter agent and a designated freight forwarder. The airline reserves a sufficient number of spaces for the freight forwarder on specific flights. Its core features are as follows:
First, it has high certainty. Whether the market is in the off-season or peak season, or whether the space is tight or not, the freight forwarder can ensure that it gets the number of spaces agreed in the contract. This is its biggest advantage.
Second, it has priority. In case of special situations such as flight delays or cancellations, freight forwarders with fixed space usually have their goods prioritized on subsequent flights.
Third, it has high thresholds. Because airlines usually only sign fixed space contracts with large, reputable freight forwarders that have sufficient cargo volume. The freight forwarder must guarantee a minimum cargo volume. Even if the cargo volume is insufficient, it still needs to pay the corresponding fees. Relatively speaking, the cost is high and the risk is relatively large.
Take our company DL Logistics as an example. We operate air freight to middle east dedicated lines and have bought out 20 weekly pallets from 2 major airlines, with sufficient capacity. What does 20 pallets mean? For example, other better freight forwarders only have about 2 or 3 pallets per week. Our capacity is 10 times that of them. No wonder we are truly one of the top 5 freight forwarders in air freight to middle east. Even Huawei's exhibition goods are designated to be transported by us via air freight. You know, big companies like Huawei are very strict when choosing freight forwarders. The fact that they chose us fully shows our strength in the air freight industry.
Now let's look at non-fixed space. Usually, freight forwarders temporarily apply for space from airlines or sales agents according to the needs of each shipment or batch of goods. Whether they can book the space and how many spaces they can get depend on the market supply and demand at the time of booking.
Its core features are as follows: First, high uncertainty. The biggest disadvantage is that the space cannot be guaranteed. Especially in the peak season of air freight to middle east, the capacity of specific popular routes will definitely be very tight.
Second, the price fluctuates greatly. The freight rate follows the market and fluctuates sharply. In the off-season, its price may be similar to ours, but in the peak season, the price may soar continuously. That is to say, the cost is difficult to control and the fluctuation range is very large.
Third, the priority is low. When space is tight, non-fixed space goods are usually the first to be left behind. So its risk is much higher than that of goods with fixed space.
What I said above is not the key. The key is that in the air freight to middle east market, even small freight forwarders with 3 or 5 people in urban villages advertise loudly on various platforms, with better words than mine. In the end, I become the most plain and unnoticed freight forwarder. So for foreign trade shippers going overseas, when they have goods transportation needs, they must keep their eyes open and select reliable, large-scale freight forwarders like us that can meet their transportation requirements.