When shipping air freight to the Middle East, you can earn an extra 40,000 RMB on 5 tons of cargo. Want to know how some people do it?

Some customers tell their freight forwarder they want direct air freight with door-to-door delivery. But some forwarders are pretty sneaky – they send the cargo on a connecting flight instead. For example, from Shenzhen to Singapore, then connect to Dubai. After arrival, they clear customs and deliver to the door.

The customer might ask, “Why hasn’t my air freight arrived after 5 or 6 days?” The forwarder says, “It’s stuck in customs inspection at the destination port.”

They even create a fake inspection notice at the destination port and show it to the customer, saying it might take another 4 to 5 days. If you count business days, the total time – air freight plus inspection – ends up being about the same as a connecting flight via Singapore. So the customer has nothing to complain about.

Direct flight costs 26 RMB per kg, connecting flight costs 18 RMB. For 5 tons of cargo, that’s an extra 40,000 RMB in profit.

When shipping air freight to the Middle East, freight forwarders often use 4 common tricks. 90% of newcomers get caught by these.

1. Bait and switch – The forwarder offers a super low price to attract you. Market price for general cargo is 25 RMB, but they quote 18 RMB. In reality, they swap the direct flight for a connecting flight. When you ask, they say the flight was delayed.

2. Mixing prohibited goods – You ship general cargo at a low price, but they secretly add e-cigarettes, magnetic or battery-powered items. If your cargo gets inspected, you lose both your goods and your money.

3. Inconsistent service – They promise a direct flight for your shipment, but actually mix direct and connecting flights. When you ask, they say “sorry, missed the scan, we’ll be careful next time.”

4. Dangerous mixing – They put all kinds of dangerous goods and consolidated cargo together, only using general cargo packaging on the outside. Once inspected, either your shipment gets delayed or the forwarder disappears.

So, there is a right way to find a reliable air freight forwarder for the Middle East. Don’t just compare prices right away. The air freight to Middle East market is mature enough now. Most forwarders have similar operating costs, so prices won’t differ by more than 5%. If someone quotes you 20-30% lower, there’s definitely a catch.

Of course, I’m not saying don’t compare prices. A small difference is still a difference. And since different forwarders have different channels and resources, if you find the right one, they can still save you 5% on logistics costs.

So how do you know you’ve found the right one? For logistics, especially international logistics, you need to look at their overall strength. Same price, choose faster delivery. Same delivery time, choose better reputation. Same reputation, check out their logistics warehouse.

A small, fly-by-night forwarder with just 3 or 4 people will always talk about being “asset-light”. Their warehouse is rented, or they don’t even have one. That kind of small operation might work for small clients, but for high-end customers, it’s not enough. To do air freight to Middle East well, you must have your own logistics warehouse.

At DL, we have a 20,000 square meter foreign trade warehouse in Yantian, with 6 floors. Foreign clients often visit and give us a thumbs up.