Case 1
Thinking of Shipping via Air Freight to the Middle East Without Checking the Freight Forwarder's Office? — They Might Just Be Using a Shared Workspace!
Let's be honest. If you're shipping high-value goods via air freight to the Middle East, and you haven't visited the freight forwarder's office in person, then that contract of yours is basically just a piece of paper full of words.
Manager Ge was shipping high-tech chemical materials, his company's core product with a value comparable to white gold, using air freight to the Middle East. The forwarder he initially hired promised with confidence that it would take 5-7 days via air express to reach the designated warehouse. But for some reason, the shipment spent just 2 days in the air. He later found out that to save a little on costs, the forwarder had changed the route from a direct flight to one transiting through Singapore. When Manager Ge tried to find their address, he discovered the 'company' was actually just a shared workspace above a 24-hour convenience store.
Of course, such shell companies have nothing to lose. They'll take any job as long as you pay. Manager Ge deeply regretted not checking out the company beforehand.
I told Manager Ge, when you choose a freight forwarder for air freight to the Middle East, you must visit their office. You need to see their scale for yourself, and more importantly, since you're trusting them with your goods, check if they have their own assets. A company with assets is less likely to just disappear overnight. It at least proves the forwarder has been deeply involved in the industry for a good eight to ten years.
Our company is a perfect example. We occupy the entire 8th floor, Block B of Rongde International Plaza in Longgang District, Shenzhen (the whole floor is owned by us, not rented). We have nearly 100 employees, our own dedicated foreign trade warehouse, and our own trucking team. You can visit us in person or via video call anytime. Many of our clients decided to work with us only after visiting our office and seeing our capabilities with their own eyes.
Many small freight forwarding companies are just tiny operations with a few people, maybe based in an urban village. They'll accept any shipment at any price, competing mainly on being the cheapest. But they offer no real service throughout the process. They book space on the spot from the open market, so transit times can't be guaranteed. For customs clearance at the destination, they simply sell the shipment to others like us, who have our own customs clearance and delivery teams.
Manager Ge admitted he regretted only focusing on the price initially. I asked him, "Did you think the service for air freight to the Middle East was standard and identical across all forwarders? And based on that, just pick the one with the lowest price?" There are 60,000 freight forwarders in Shenzhen alone, with over a thousand handling air freight to the Middle East. This means there are over a thousand different service standards. Here's a simple example: if you give the same machinery blueprint to several different factories to produce, you'll end up with products of varying quality. The same logic applies when choosing different forwarders for air freight to the Middle East.
For us in the air freight to Middle East business, owning our office building isn't the main goal, but it does show that we are among the top 1% of forwarders in terms of strength. We confidently and proactively invite clients to visit our office or do a video tour because we have real capability backing us up. This capability comes from us securing 20 fixed pallet spaces every week with two major airlines. In contrast, most of those forwarders you see constantly advertising themselves as 'primary operators' for air freight to the Middle East, even the better ones, might only have the capacity for 2 or 3 pallets per week. Securing these spaces requires significant financial resources – a lot of it. This is the hard proof of our real strength and capability.
I proactively invited Manager Ge for a video call to tour our company. This gave him a full understanding of our operations. Finally, he felt assured. He immediately arranged to send his next batch of goods to our warehouse. We, as agreed, booked the space for 2 days later. Five days after that, Manager Ge's chemical materials arrived safely at the warehouse in Dubai.
Case 2
20 Hours from Shenzhen Factory to Dubai Factory via Air Freight to Middle East – Hard to Find Another One Like This in China
Aziz, a client from Dubai, found me online. He got straight to the point and asked: Could I arrange to ship a batch of servo motors and drivers from Shenzhen to Dubai via air freight within 24 hours, and deliver them to his factory right after customs clearance? If yes, I must make a written commitment.
From his few words, I could tell from experience that he had been let down by those small freight forwarders online who claimed to offer "air freight to Middle East" services. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked in such a tone. I asked him: Had he done any research on Daolong’s air freight to Middle East? He replied: It was exactly because he read several articles about us online and learned something that he wanted to confirm further. If things were really as what the articles said and promised, he wanted to try a small order first.
Just like that, since it was an urgent air freight to Dubai, Aziz quickly signed a contract with us. On the same day, I reserved a cargo space for the next day’s flight to Middle East, and also arranged for our container truck fleet to go pick up the goods early the next morning. Aziz asked: Why is this so convenient and fast?
I replied: Daolong has long-term exclusive rights to 20 weekly air cargo pallets from two major airlines. We are among the top 5 companies in China for air freight to Middle East. We don’t need to coordinate with any third party for cargo space. We have our own container truck fleet, so we don’t have to rent vehicles from third parties either. This is one of Daolong’s core strengths, and most of our peers don’t have this. This surprised Aziz a lot, and he felt relieved too – because his servo motors and drivers were now guaranteed to be shipped on time.
I also told Aziz: Every step of the air freight to Middle East will be updated in real time, and he could check the shipping progress 同步 ly. Aziz was shocked…
Early the next morning, Daolong’s container truck fleet went to the Shenzhen factory to pick up the goods. Six hours later, the goods were loaded onto the flight. After an 8-hour flight, they arrived at Dubai Airport smoothly. At the same time, the customs supervision warehouse had already received the pre-declaration documents. Although servo motors are key inspection items in the category of mechanical and electrical products, we had already communicated directly with the relevant customs departments in advance. The inspection and release were completed in just 2 hours, and customs clearance was finished.
After customs clearance, picking up goods from the airport supervision warehouse usually requires making an appointment and waiting in line. But thanks to the trust built through years of cooperation, we can skip the appointment and get priority for goods inspection and release – or you could say Daolong has the right to "jump the queue" for cargo pickup. Aziz was excited…
Right after that, a local logistics company with 20 years of history, over 500 employees and 50 vehicles sent a dedicated truck to deliver the goods. Four hours later, the goods were safely and smoothly delivered to the Dubai factory. This is a local customs clearance and delivery service company with strong capabilities, and we have full control over the "last mile" delivery resources.
This time, the door-to-door urgent service from the Shenzhen factory to the Dubai factory included three processes: logistics in Shenzhen + air freight to Dubai + logistics in Dubai. The total time taken was 6 + 8 + 2 + 4 = 20 hours. When the information about the final safe delivery to the Dubai factory was pushed to Aziz’s mobile phone, I could imagine how impressed he was… Now he truly understands and has experienced our commitment to delivery time – it’s hard to find another Daolong-like air freight service to Middle East in China.
That’s the end of the story… Let’s compare: What about those small freight forwarders who have neither core strengths nor local resources in Dubai?
In the next article, I’ll talk about how Aziz’s first air freight to Dubai was ruined by a small freight forwarder – for him, it was a real eye-opening lesson.
Daolong’s air freight to Middle East has long-term exclusive rights to 20 weekly pallets from two major airlines. Our core strength outperforms 99% of peers.
Everyone who has used Daolong’s air freight to Middle East says it’s smooth and hassle-free.[learn more]
Case 3
DL's Air Freight to Middle East: 20 Weekly Pallets with 2 Major Airlines
What does it take to be one of China's top five air freight to middle east specialists? Two essential conditions: strong financial resources and guaranteed weekly orders. This is definitely not a business that small freight forwarders operating out of urban villages can handle.
DL's air freight to middle east service isn't a here-and-there operation—it's built on a foundation of consistent order volume. That's why the company secures 20 weekly pallet spaces year after year from two major airlines. To those outside the industry, this might just sound impressive without understanding the real significance. So, what does this represent in China's logistics sector?
Let me break it down:
1. Most logistics and freight forwarding companies rent airline pallet spaces only when they have an order.
2. Slightly more established players, who have weekly orders, might secure two fixed pallet spaces per week.
3. A company like DL, with solid capabilities, consistently books 20 weekly pallet spaces across two major airlines. That places them among China's top five.
4. Securing spaces means paying for them whether you use them or not. This truly tests a company's financial strength.
5. Even if a company has strong finances, it may not have guaranteed weekly orders. So, they can't commit to yearly block bookings.
6. Companies that can consistently block-book spaces definitely have both financial power and steady weekly orders. They belong to the top 1% of logistics providers in China.
In summary, DL's air freight to middle east service is one of China's top five. By securing 20 weekly pallet spaces with two major airlines year after year, they handle ten times the volume of their average competitors. Small freight forwarders from urban villages simply don't have the capacity for this kind of operation. So, when shipping goods via air freight to middle east, be careful in selecting a forwarder. Don't overpay and risk getting stuck with an unreliable small operator.
Many factories shipping via air freight to middle east try to find connections within their network. This often adds middlemen, but the order usually ends up with DL anyway. Why not go directly to DL and save on the extra fees?
Here's a typical case to illustrate:
Hassan had a batch of precision servo motors worth 5 million RMB that needed urgent air freight to middle east. He was hesitant to use his previous forwarder. Some logistics companies work hard but lack the financial strength. Even if they claim to specialize in air freight to middle east, they might only have two weekly pallet spaces. Last time, his forwarder promised five spaces through connections, but when a bigger order came in, those spaces were taken back. Hassan's shipment was delayed for five days. He eventually managed to ship through another contact, but his factory in Dubai was shut down for those five days—frustrating, but there was nothing he could do.
This time, Hassan reached out to me. I arranged everything immediately: secured direct flight spaces, split the 15-ton shipment into 9 tons for direct flight and 6 tons for a connecting flight. This way, the entire batch was scheduled for a flight the day after tomorrow—no need to call in favors, saving him money and ensuring faster delivery.
Within 68 hours, everything was loaded—four hours ahead of Hassan's 72-hour requirement. Five days later, the entire shipment arrived safely at his designated warehouse in the UAE.
Information gaps always exist. There are 60,000 logistics and freight forwarders in Shenzhen alone, with over a thousand claiming to handle air freight to middle east. About 90% of them first find orders and then look for available space in the market. Even if they can rent space, they often manage only two or three pallets per week. Yet, many of these still call themselves "primary consolidators for air freight to middle east."
DL's air freight to middle east service operates on a "dual-guarantee" model: first, direct flights to the UAE from Monday to Friday, and second, flights from Guangzhou/Shenzhen via Beijing to the UAE from Monday to Sunday. This "direct + connecting" flight dedicated line fundamentally ensures timeliness and stability for large shipments.
I told Hassan that I understand the challenges his previous forwarder faced. In summer, high temperatures, frequent typhoons at departure points, and sandstorms in Dubai often lead to widespread flight cancellations and delays. But this isn't always the case. Ultimately, it comes down to the strength of the logistics provider or freight forwarder you choose.
Those who have used DL's air freight to middle east service find it smooth and reliable. Those who haven't often end up confused and frustrated.
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