Air freight shipping
Meet deadlines and customer expectations with fast, reliable air cargo services—including same day, airport to airport delivery—at all major hubs around the world.
Air Freight Solutions
Every supply chain has unique needs. Our comprehensive air services, global reach, and local knowledge give you customized, reliable solutions based on your requirements to ensure your freight arrives at its destination as planned.
Standard
Get capacity for items with flexible transit times. Standard air service offers reliability at economical rates.
Explore standard air service
All Regions
Premium
Enjoy the premium benefits of our defined air scheduling to ensure your freight arrives according to plan.
Explore premium air service
All Regions
Priority
Get it there fast—rely on our deep air carrier relationships to expedite your air freight. Our investment in key air gateways is your advantage.
Explore priority air service
All Regions
Charter Services
When every minute counts, we’ll secure an aircraft to move your complex, oversized, and time sensitive air cargo at maximum speed with minimum hassle.
Explore air charter service
All Regions
Heavy & Oversized
Transport your heavy, overdimensional, and specialized freight safely with customized air shipping solutions. Our field experts have the specialized experience to coordinate every shipment with care.
Explore heavy and oversized air services
All Regions
Multimodal
Combine the advantages of air freight and sea shipping—including faster transit times and steadier spend—with a streamlined, multimodal process under a unified bill of lading.
Explore multimodal service
All Regions
Temperature Controlled Air
Air is a fast, efficient choice when moving temperature sensitive goods. From refrigeration to freeze protection, mitigate risks and protect your product’s integrity.
Explore temp controlled air service
North America
Latin America
Europe & UK
Middle East
Customs Brokerage
Maintain your speed advantage with our customs brokerage services to complement your chosen air cargo services. Work with our Trusted Advisor® experts to keep your imports and exports moving quickly through global air hubs.
Explore customs brokerage services
All Regions
Trade Policy Consulting
Keep up with ever-changing import and export regulations to mitigate risks to your air freight. With our knowledge of the intricacies involved in global trade, you can proactively solve compliance issues.
Explore trade policy services
North America
Oceania
Marine Cargo Insurance
Safeguard your air freight from financial exposure, physical loss, and damage while in transit. Explore your policy choices—including transactional coverage and annual policies—to ensure your coverage matches your exposure risk.
Explore insurance services
Europe & UK
North America
Latin America
Core air shipping corridors
Testimonials
“From an air freight transport perspective, C.H. Robinson offered the most competitive cost option. And when it came to customs brokerage, it was the reporting and administrative capabilities that impressed us.”
"The strategic foresight demonstrated by C.H. Robinson not only yielded cost savings of up to 50% reduction in flight costs, but also streamlined our logistical operations."
What sets our air freight services apart
Get more negotiating power with airlines and access to capacity at a moment’s notice, even for your unplanned shipments, when you tap into our scale and expertise.
- Keep your air freight moving consistently with daily departure schedules through our global carrier management program.
- Secure the space and scheduling you need—via cargo or passenger plane—through our carrier relationships.
- Find efficient, cost effective transportation strategies by working with our dedicated experts who oversee and optimize your entire logistics portfolio.
Related services
Ocean shipping
Get competitive rates and reliable ocean freight capacity through our long-term carrier relationships. As one of the largest NVOCCs in the world, we have relationships with all major alliances. Your FCL and LCL/consolidated cargo sails reliably with carriers you can trust across major trade lanes.
Learn more
Customs brokerage
Keep your freight moving worldwide with less uncertainty and compliance risk. Work with our licensed, in-house brokers to clear shipments through customs quickly—and without extra costs.
Learn more
Project logistics
Keep your next capital expenditures project running smoothly. It’s easy to meet your safety milestones and construction schedules with the help of our project logistics experts. Plus, you can reduce risk, encourage safety, and save money with our proprietary capital expenditure (CAPEX) model.
Learn moreConnect your global supply chain with a single platform
Automate, optimize, and manage every aspect of the shipment lifecycle across multiple vendors with Navisphere®, our single, global, multimodal transportation management system. It’s a complete digital ecosystem that streamlines complexity and improves efficiency up and down your supply chain.
- Gain connectivity for every step of your shipment journey, from purchase order management and quoting to tracking and invoicing.
- Drive smarter solutions for your supply chain with an unmatched information advantage—you’ll have access to the most shipment, routing, and carrier data in the industry.
- Increase your speed and efficiency with capabilities in our system or in your own TMS or ERP—from bids to billing.
Frequently asked questions
Q: What is air freight shipping?
Air freight, or air cargo, shipping is the process of transporting products via air through carrier airlines.
Q: What are the benefits of shipping via air?
Air shipping offers fast transportation, offering greater flexibility and responsiveness to market changes. Additional benefits include reliability and the ability to ship goods almost anywhere in the world.
Q: Is air shipping expensive?
Air shipping is considered the most expensive mode of transport compared to ocean. However, shippers can select from multiple options that take price and transit time into consideration to create more economical rates.
Q: How long does shipping by air take?
Air services are dependent on the level of service secured and the overall distance of transit. Priority shipments can take anywhere from 1–2 days with standard shipments ranging from 5–10 days.
Q: Are there any cargo restrictions shipping by air?
Cargo restrictions are in place for nine classes of dangerous goods. Some goods are too dangerous to transport on any aircraft, while others need approval from the aviation authority of the countries involved.
Q: Can you ship oversize cargo by air?
Oversize cargo can be shipped by air. Charter shipping solutions are available for the transportation of heavy and out of gauge cargo that cannot be loaded onto scheduled services.
Q: Is air freight a sustainable mode of transport?
Air freight is not the most sustainable mode of transport. In fact, aircrafts emit the most greenhouse gases per tonne kilometre, meaning it has the greatest environmental impact over other modes of transport.
Get the latest global freight forwarding and market updates
Stay up to date with market changes that impact air and ocean capacity—everything you need to navigate global shipping.
Evolving our global freight services to meet your needs
Supply chains are growing in complexity and moving faster than ever. Due to the nature of our fast-paced industry, there is a continuous need for additional services. Over the years, we have remained committed to expanding our global network in exciting new ways—including strategic acquisitions—that align with your changing needs.
Meet customer expectations
