Chargeable weight decides your bill
Air freight is not priced on what the cargo weighs. It is priced on the greater of what it weighs and the space it occupies — and for most consignments, the second number is the one that bills.
Volumetric weight is length × width × height in centimetres, divided by 6,000. Whichever is higher — that or the actual gross weight — is your chargeable weight.
- A dense shipment
- Say 100 kg of machined parts in a 60 × 40 × 40 cm crate. Volumetric weight is 96,000 ÷ 6,000 = 16 kg. The actual weight of 100 kg is higher, so you are billed on 100 kg.
- A bulky shipment
- Say 100 kg of packaged textiles filling 120 × 100 × 100 cm. Volumetric weight is 1,200,000 ÷ 6,000 = 200 kg. That is now the higher figure, so you are billed on 200 kg — double the scale weight.
- What this means in practice
- Tight, well-packed cartons cost less to fly. If your supplier ships in oversized boxes with air inside them, you are paying to fly that air. It is worth telling them so before the cargo is packed.
Figures on this page are indicative planning guides, not quotations. Tariff rates, carrier schedules and Bureau of Customs requirements change — we confirm every figure against your actual cargo and the rules in force on the day before you commit.
Gateways we fly
When air earns its premium
High value against low weight
Electronics, components, instruments, pharmaceuticals. When the freight is a small fraction of the cargo value, the premium barely registers on the landed cost.
A line is about to stop
If a missing part idles a production line or a store misses a launch, the cost per day of being late usually dwarfs the difference between air and sea.
Small consignments
Under a few hundred kilos the absolute gap between air and sea is often modest, while the time saved is measured in weeks.
Perishable or dated stock
Where shelf life or a season is the constraint, sea freight may not be an option at any price.
Splitting the shipment
A tactic worth knowing: fly the urgent portion and ship the balance by sea. You cover the immediate need without paying air rates on the whole order.
When sea is the better answer
Bulky, low-value, non-urgent cargo. If you are flying furniture or packaging to save a fortnight, we will tell you the numbers do not work.
What air freight will not simply carry
Air cargo is screened and regulated far more tightly than ocean freight. Declaring these at booking costs you a conversation; discovering them at screening costs you the flight.
- Lithium batteries — loose, packed with equipment, or installed in it. Each case is treated differently under the IATA dangerous goods rules, and carriers add their own restrictions.
- Aerosols, paints, solvents and adhesives — commonly classified as dangerous goods and requiring declaration, approved packaging and a trained shipper.
- Magnets and magnetised materials — restricted because of their effect on aircraft instruments; may require shielding and testing.
- Powders and fine granular goods — subject to additional screening, which can add days.
- Goods needing a permit before release — food, cosmetics, medical devices, telecommunications equipment. Air freight arrives faster than a permit application does.
Send us the safety data sheet with your booking request where one exists. We would far rather establish that something is restricted while it is still in your supplier’s warehouse.
How an air shipment runs
Quote on chargeable weight
Send gross weight and the dimensions of every package. We calculate chargeable weight and quote against it, so the figure you approve is the figure you pay.
Collect and screen
We collect from the supplier, complete the export declaration and present the cargo for security screening at the origin airport.
Fly
Booked on a scheduled service with a named flight. You get the air waybill number and can track it from that point.
Clear and deliver
Our brokers lodge the entry against the pre-alert documents so clearance begins as the cargo lands, then we truck it to your door.
Frequently asked
On chargeable weight, which is the greater of the actual gross weight and the volumetric weight. Volumetric weight is calculated by multiplying length by width by height in centimetres and dividing by 6,000. A shipment that is light but bulky bills on its volume rather than its scale weight, which is why a pallet of foam pays far more than its actual mass suggests.
The flight itself is only three to five hours. Realistically expect 2–5 days airport to airport once export handling, security screening, consolidation and the flight schedule are accounted for, then add clearance and delivery at the Philippine end. Express courier is faster but prices differently and suits much smaller consignments.
When the value of the cargo is high relative to its weight, when a stockout or a stalled production line costs more per day than the freight premium, or when the shipment is small enough that the gap between air and sea in absolute pesos is modest. For a 50 kg consignment of components the difference is often less than people assume; for 5 CBM of furniture it is enormous.
Some, with the correct declaration and packing. Lithium batteries in particular are tightly regulated under the IATA dangerous goods rules — whether they ship loose, packed with equipment or installed in it changes the requirements, and individual carriers apply their own restrictions on top. Tell us before booking, not after, and send the safety data sheet. An undeclared battery shipment gets stopped at screening and you will lose more time than the air freight saved.
Departures from the main Chinese gateways including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, arriving principally at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila. Clark and Cebu are available where they suit the final delivery point better.
Get an air freight quote that holds
Send the gross weight and the dimensions of each package. We will calculate the chargeable weight, flag anything restricted, and quote you a landed figure rather than a rate per kilo.