Looking for Low-Cost Air Freight to UAE? Your Goods Might Be Resold — Who Can You Trust?
Hassan needed to ship some electrical Accessories by air freight to the UAE. He got quotes from several forwarders and, feeling pretty confident about his knowledge of the air shipping process, he went with the cheapest option. He handed over the goods, but a week later, his client in the UAE still hadn’t received the shipment. When Hassan followed up, the agent blamed flight delays and asked him to wait. After several more days with no delivery, Hassan started to worry.
After asking around, he found out the truth: that small forwarder was known for offering super low rates to attract orders, but they didn’t actually have any real air shipping resources or capacity. Instead, they’d hold all the goods in their warehouse until they had enough to bundle and resell to another freight company—making a profit from the price difference. Their attitude was basically: “It’s a one-time deal. We’ll still ship your goods, just slower. What are you gonna do?”
Companies like this focus only on finding new customers. There will always be clients looking for the cheapest rate and hoping to get lucky. If one customer gets cheated and leaves, there are plenty more where they came from. With so much cargo moving daily via air freight to the UAE, this kind of operation unfortunately still finds a market. But for the customer? If you choose them, you’re the one who loses.
I told Hassan: When choosing an agent for air freight to the UAE, you need to think carefully—are you choosing based only on price, or on the company’s reliability? Sellers are always savvier than buyers. Their goal is profit. If the price is unusually low, there’s a reason—but you won’t know what the catch is until it’s too late.
That’s why it’s crucial to pick a trustworthy company first, and only then compare prices. Do everything you can to research the forwarder’s actual situation. If possible, visit their office in person. If you can’t, do a video call or check them thoroughly online. A good freight forwarder should have a solid reputation and years of experience. Many of our clients decided to work with us only after they came and saw our operations.
How long the company has been in business matters. There are over 60,000 active freight forwarders in Shenzhen alone—more than a thousand of them handle air freight to the UAE. New companies register every day, and many shut down just as fast. 90% of freight agencies don’t survive past three years. The barrier to entry is low—often, people work at a large forwarder, learn the process, then start their own small company. That’s how most of these one-person operations begin.
The companies that last are those with good business sense that truly meet customer needs. In this industry, the longer a forwarder has been around, the more reliable they are.
Our company was established in 1998—we’ve been in business for 27 years. We occupy the entire 8th floor of Tower B, Rongde International Plaza in Longgang, Shenzhen. We own the whole floor; it’s not rented. We have nearly 100 employees. At this scale, we’re fully equipped to handle major clients. We’ve even shipped electronics worth ¥40 million for Huawei.
And believe me—Huawei doesn’t choose their logistics partners lightly. They do onsite checks, background reviews, contract signing—the whole process. If a forwarder meets Huawei’s standards, you know they’re reliable.
Situations like Hassan’s happen a lot in air freight to the UAE. Sometimes clients contact me in the morning and decide to ship with us that same afternoon. Is that reckless? Not at all. Most of these clients are experienced purchasing managers. They’ve already done deep research on our company online and know we’re trustworthy. That’s why they decide so quickly.
I explained all these details to Hassan, and he agreed completely. A week later, his electrical accessories arrived safely at the designated warehouse in the UAE.