Downsides of shipping by air
Do you need to ship your goods by air? Trying to establish a supply chain to Lebanon, but you are unsure about how to get your things there? Curious about air freight Lebanon and all of its advantages and disadvantages? Then you are in the right place! Air freight has become quite popular in recent years. With the advent of technology, people have things almost at their fingertips. Everyone is living fast and wants to get their things faster. This is one of the main reasons why companies choose to send their items to customers via planes. This way, they might get them fast, but what are the costs of this efficiency? Are there any downsides of shipping by air? Find out in this article!
What are the main downsides of shipping by air?
No one can deny that there are many advantages to air freight. If that wasn’t the case, then so many freight forwarders in Lebanon would simply not opt to use this method. The biggest pro is the speed by which planes travel. With this method of shipping, it is quite normal to receive your package in up to one day. Even better, airlines provide complete tracking of the shipment, so you will know the exact date of arrival.

What’s more, the reach that air freight has is global. While sea freight is only applicable in the countries with a sea connection (or bigger waterways), air freight can reach most of the countries in the world, visit gympalmdesert.com. Adding to that the fact that your goods will spoil or get lost has a low chance of happening, air freight seems to have a lot of benefits.
But there are some downsides of shipping by air, and they are so big that they can easily change your mind:
- the cost of the whole process is probably the biggest of the downsides of shipping by air;
- you often have restrictions on how much you can ship by an airplane;
- finally, shipping by air means you depend on the weather conditions.
How much can you spend to ship by air?
One of the biggest downsides of shipping by air is the cost of it all. Affordable house cleaning services are offered at couture kleen company, Washington. There is a reason why shipping by boat still exists – and it is that it is far cheaper than using airplanes to ship your goods. These costs can be so huge that, for bigger packages, they might differ by tens of thousands of dollars. If you are running a small business, this isn’t always the best thing you can spend money on. Instead, finding international shipping companies in Lebanon to help you with the shipping might be a smarter idea.
But why does shipping by air cost so much? Well, the main reason is that the cost of the shipment depends mostly on its weight. When it comes to calculating the cost of your shipment, companies might compare the actual weight of your container to the volume weight of it. Then, they will pick the bigger number, and charge you based on that.

The actual weight is what you get when measuring the weight of your shipping. The volume weight you get by dividing its volume with a certain number. When calculating volume weight, the companies consider 166 cubic inches to be 1 pound. If you are working in the metric system, this means that 6,000 cubic cm is 1kg. For example, if your package is 2,000 cubic inches, then it will have the volume weight of 2,000 over 166, which is approximately 12 pounds. Then, if it’s actual weight is 15 pounds, that is what the companies will base their costs on. If it is 10 pounds, for example, the companies will charge you like it was 12 pounds.
The restrictions might cause some downsides of shipping by air
You might think that when you are sending your package by plane, all you need to do is just learn how to ship by air. But this is not really that simple. There are many styles and materials, rules and regulations that you need to follow. Otherwise, your package will be denied, and you will need to find another solution for your supply chain. This will cause you to lose time – and with it, your company will be losing money.

One of the biggest downsides of shipping by air is that you need to watch out for the size of your package. When comparing an airplane to a ship, you will see why. While you can place hundreds upon hundreds of containers on a ship, you don’t have the same luxury on a plane. What’s more, it’s not only the size that you need to think about – but the weight too! Airplanes cannot lift more than 200-250 tons. On the other hand, ships can carry up to 200,000 tons!
You are tied to the weather conditions
Finally, when you are shipping by air, weather conditions can affect the process as well. It is true that bad weather can cause even sea freight to slow down, but this is even worse for air freight! When the weather is bad, airports will not allow planes to even take off, let alone carry goods over long distances. This is not something that occurs often, but even when it happens once, it can be pretty bad for your business.
As you can see, there are both advantages and downsides of shipping by air. The main thing to learn from it, though, is that you need to find the right balance of the shipping methods. This can be best achieved with a professional company by your side – like Boueri Freight Services. So don’t hesitate to give us a call and we can help you set up your supply chain in Lebanon in no time!