Your decision to use air freight should be made strategically, based on the specific characteristics of the goods you need to transport. Certain types of goods benefit disproportionately from the advantages of air freight, while others are dominated by the disadvantages. You can optimize your transport strategy by understanding which of your products are predestined for air freight.

High-Value and Compact Goods

Goods with a high value-to-weight ratio are the classic candidates for air freight. Consider a laser measuring device that weighs 5 kilograms and is worth €50,000. The transport costs of approximately €200 represent only a fraction of the goods’ value, while you simultaneously benefit from the speed and security of air freight. Precision instruments, watches, jewelry, or high-end electronics typically fall into this category.

Time-Critical and Perishable Goods

Products with short shelf lives or strictly limited availability windows are predestined for air freight. In the pharmaceutical industry, you transport vaccines, blood products, or other temperature-sensitive medications almost exclusively by air freight. Consider a cancer medication with a shelf life of only a few days – here, air freight is not only sensible but can be life-saving. The same applies to fresh delicacies or seasonal specialties when the time factor is critical.

Spare Parts and Emergency Deliveries

You can strategically use air freight for unplanned deliveries and spare parts. When a production line comes to a standstill, the costs of downtime far exceed the high air freight costs. An air freight delivery worth €1,000 can prevent production losses of €100,000 per day. In such cases, air freight is an investment in operational continuity.

Electronics and High-Tech Products

The electronics industry uses air freight intensively. Smartphones, computers, semiconductors, and other electronic components typically have a favorable value-to-weight ratio and are simultaneously time-critical due to short product life cycles. If you manufacture the latest chips or electronic components, you can deliver them to production facilities worldwide via air freight, ensuring that products don’t lose value through long transport times.

Fashion Products and Seasonal Goods

The textile industry uses air freight for time-critical collections and fast-fashion items. If you, as a fashion company, need to have your autumn collection available in international boutiques by a specific date, air freight is often the only option. The short fashion cycles and the necessity to react quickly to trends make the higher transport costs economically justifiable.

Prototypes and Small Series

In mechanical engineering or the automotive industry, you frequently ship prototypes and small series via air freight. When developing new products, time is often more important than costs. You can send prototype components to test centers worldwide while saving valuable development time. Since these are individual pieces or very small series, the absolute transport costs remain manageable.

Medical Devices and Laboratory Supplies

Medical technology companies traditionally use air freight extensively. Diagnostic equipment, surgical instruments, or laboratory equipment often need to be available quickly and justify air freight costs through their high value. You can deliver critical spare parts for MRI machines to hospitals worldwide within 24 hours, enabling life-saving diagnoses.

Documents and Small Valuables

Although the internet has made many document transports obsolete, there are still situations where you need to transport original documents, contracts, or small valuables quickly. Law firms or notaries use express air freight for important legal documents needed for international business transactions.

Disaster Relief and Humanitarian Goods

Relief organizations and companies providing disaster assistance rely on air freight. When rapid assistance is needed after a natural disaster, air freight is often the only practical way. You can quickly bring water treatment plants or emergency power generators to crisis areas through air freight, even when transport costs are very high.

The decision to use air freight should always be a balance between time, costs, and risk. If you want to optimize your transport strategy, analyze your product range and determine the optimal transport method for each product type. Often, a mixed strategy proves sensible: standard products by sea freight for basic supply and time-critical or high-value goods by air freight for maximum efficiency.