Usual delays with air freight shipping

Delay is not something that is very pleasant, but sometimes people have to understand why is it happening. Usual delays with air freight shipping occur mainly to non-human factors such as bad weather conditions such as heavy rain, snowstorms, and even hurricanes. Today, Transparent International is here to explain why sometimes it is necessary to delay flights – or even cancel them.

What happens to your items when it comes to delays with air freight shipping?

When it comes to delays with air freight shipping, your items are in most cases safe and sound. Most professional moving companies overseas simply put them in storage units or stowed in the cargo hold on board. There is simply no chance that your items are left without any surveillance as professional customer service is nowadays a must. Still, there are factors that contribute to delays.

Is there a tracking option?

Yes, there is! No matter if you’re shipping your car or just one suitcase, you can always find out about the status of your items. Most likely you will have to call on the phone to check the exact location of your cargo, but you will know where your items are at all times. Of course, insuring your items just means additional protection.

Are delays with air freight shipping something that happens a lot?

Well – yes and no. When it comes to air freight shipping we must point out that weather conditions are unpredictable and if you want your items safe, often unavoidable. This is also the most common delay in transit transportation. Still, modern technology has improved and shipping companies have more advanced weather predictions and statistics. Of course, really bad weather conditions like storm Katrina or any volcanic eruptions can have an impact on air freight transportation. Sometimes even events like COVID-19 can have a big influence on how the overall transportation is going to be. Still, these events are not very common and happen once in several years.

Can you avoid delays when it comes to air freight shipping?

Well, there is no way to predict the future – not yet, at least. In this way, as there is nothing in life that is a 100% guarantee, there is no way to avoid delays completely. However, there are ways to help you speed things up. First of all, always choose the high quality packing and crating service that will help you secure your cargo. Also, filling out all forms correctly and completely will help you big time. Provide your exact contact information – and always keep some spare items in a small bag with you.

What about the overall infrastructure?

People pay more money to relocate air cargo and it may be stressful when it’s late. Sometimes infrastructure can be a cause of air freight delay. There is no really a solution for congested and manic traffic at airports. And penalties for shipments sitting in 2-6 hours do not help much. There should be ways to help automate or ease operational burdens that result in delays and poor service. Again, airports are the ones that need to cooperate more with handlers and airlines and help in air freight operations.

Technical difficulties can cause delays too

Documentation may not seem like a problem in this day and age, but it sure can be. It can be a small thing such as showing that cargo as available for pick-up when it’s not really there yet.  But this small thing creates a whole mess. This is just one example when the location of the shipment is largely unaccounted for. And imagine now a truck coming to pick up that cargo, after being stuck in traffic for hours. This just creates more congestion and more chaos. This just makes people wonder how they can be truly sure when their cargo is ready for pick up.

Poor customer service and dependability

Employment issues can cause air freight delays in terms that many companies in trying to lower costs, hire low quality working force. This leaves people who are not qualified, paid high enough, or satisfied with their work to deal with premium cargo with little training and career advancement. And this is not a problem only in air freight companies. This is just one of the issues when it comes to employment, but companies have to be careful who they hire.

Should you even use air freight shipping?

All these reasons can cause your cargo to be late – but overall, long delays are rare. Of course, there is always a possibility that something goes wrong but in most cases that is due to factors that remain out of anybody’s control. Natural and weather disasters cannot be predicted as we said, but moving companies are improving more than ever before.

To sum up

All these examples of usual delays with air freight shipping just put consumer confidence to the test. New York’s JFK for example was the primary East Coast air gateway for decades, But not investing in improvements to infrastructure has led to a 20% decrease in air cargo volume in the last 10 years. This just shows that even the best companies have to care about all their customers – or the competitive company will.

Of course, people who want to use air freight shipping need to know they always have an option to change the company. You can always contact Transparent International to help you out with any questions you may have.