Air Freight to Dubai: Avoid Pitfalls – Know What a First-Class Agent Is
If you have goods for air freight to Dubai, you must know what a first-class air freight agent is to avoid detours when looking for a freight forwarder. Otherwise, you might get tricked by some small forwarders with high prices and slow delivery times.
Airlines don’t accept goods directly from the public. Instead, they lease block space to freight forwarders all at once. A so-called first-class air freight agent is a company that can book space directly from airlines. Such forwarders have the strength to negotiate prices and terms directly with airlines, then accept goods themselves or resell the space to second and third-class agents.
There are usually three cooperation models:
1. Block space charter: The forwarder negotiates with the airline to rent an entire block of space. This requires the forwarder to have strong financial strength and a large volume of goods. You make money if you can fill the block; otherwise, you lose money—because the airline still charges the full block space fee even if the space isn’t fully utilized. This model has the highest requirements for a forwarder’s strength, and only a few can do it. For example, we have purchased 20 block spaces per week from 2 major airlines, with a capacity 10 times that of ordinary peers. This is a genuine first-class agent.
2. Volume commitment: The forwarder agrees with the airline on a monthly cargo volume, and the airline offers a corresponding price. The larger the volume, the lower the negotiated price. Airlines also prefer large volumes, so they will give a competitive rate. With this low price, the forwarder can attract more goods, creating a virtuous cycle. However, overall, this model puts less pressure on the forwarder compared to block space charter.
3. Consignment sales: The forwarder sells airline space directly on the airline’s behalf. The forwarder acts as an intermediary, earning a price difference. This model has the least pressure but also the lowest profit margin.
In air freight to Dubai, the biggest difference between air and sea freight is that air freight has shorter turnover time and higher efficiency—perfect for time-sensitive goods. Therefore, air freight forwarders focus on developing secondary agents to collect a large number of goods, while they themselves concentrate on space booking, space control, block space charter and other businesses to improve efficiency.
Top first-class agents for air freight to Dubai specialize in specific routes. In addition to block space charter for the first leg, customs clearance and delivery at the destination and local resource control are also crucial. This ensures the efficiency of the entire air freight process, thereby enhancing competitiveness on the air freight to Dubai route. For example, we have been deeply engaged in destination customs clearance and delivery for more than 20 years. Once goods arrive at Dubai Airport, we can complete customs clearance within 2 hours, while ordinary forwarders usually need to wait in line for 2-3 days.
Therefore, to a certain extent, the competition in air freight to Dubai lies in the control of local resources. In this competition, we can deliver urgent orders on the same day: goods sent in the morning arrive at noon, and goods sent at noon arrive in the afternoon—truly a door-to-door dedicated service.
DL Logistics is one of the top 5 companies for air freight to middle east. We have purchased 20 block spaces per week from 2 major airlines, with priority clearance channels at UAE airports, allowing us to skip the queue for cargo pickup at warehouses. Our local logistics team is available to answer calls 24/7, even at 2 AM. With morning shipments arriving at noon and noon shipments arriving in the afternoon, we are truly worthy of being one of the top 5.
DL air freight to middle east—everyone who uses it says it’s smooth.