AIR FREIGHT
The Most Automated and Reliable Air Freight Forwarder, Powered by AI
As the only air freight forwarder built from the ground up around an AI-native operations platform, Flexport has automated the tedious manual parts of air forwarding while optimizing planning, routing, and more through advanced machine learning algorithms. We deliver hard cost savings alongside unmatched levels of visibility and on-time reliability.
Stay on Schedule with Predictable Air Bookings
Our centralized platform connects your entire supply chain, giving you stable capacity and powerful planning tools. With Flexport, predictability is built into every booking—so you can move faster and plan with confidence.
Catch Issues in Time for Takeoff
When goods move at the speed of air, exceptions need to be fixed faster. The Flexport Platform flags the unexpected in real time, so your just-in-time supply chain can stay on time.
See the Full Value of Your Air Freight
Flexport’s platform makes it easy to compare costs across shipping modes and calculate true landed costs down to the SKU. Quickly pull analytics to plan smarter with your team or make fast, informed decisions.
FLEXPORT PLATFORM
Control Your Supply Chain in a Single Pane of Glass
Flexport’s platform gives you end-to-end visibility across your supply chain. With fully digitized documents and real-time tracking, you and your team stay aligned every step of the way.
Innovating Air Shipment Planning
Flexport’s Air Planning Tool (APT) puts advanced automation tech in the hands of our operators to automate CFS assignments, draft allotment, and instantly run real-time infinite scenario analysis to optimize for the best cost and on-time performance for our customers.
Course Correct Exceptions in Real Time
The Flexport Platform is designed to limit the impact of exceptions. Get alerts with all the details as soon as an exception occurs. Course correct, alongside your Flexport team, to rebook or resolve and reduce delays further down the supply chain.
Drive Predictability with Dedicated Capacity from Asia
At Flexport, we supplement high-frequency commercial capacity with our own dedicated charters. It’s just one more way to preserve on-time performance and ensure against offloads.
The relationship with Flexport has provided a greater level of continuity and predictability to our core operations, as compared with previous ad-hoc forwarding relationships, allowing us to fully standardize the way we move cargo in emergencies.
Stephanie Steege
Director of Humanitarian Programs
High Security for Goods on the Go
Important shipments get extraordinary care. Flexport offers shipment-level GPS tracking, in-person escorts, and geofencing to ensure high-value cargo is exactly where you expect. All Flexport warehouses are bonded and are TAPA and C-TPAT certified.
Manage Your Supply Chain End to End
Order
Streamline Orders from the Start
Start collaborating upfront. With Flexport Order Management, you can choose your SKUs, hit submit, and work with suppliers to ensure orders are accurate, approved, and runway ready.
Let Suppliers Pilot the Bookings
By sharing control with suppliers, they can execute bookings, following rules you configure in the Flexport Platform. Still need help? Your Flexport team is on standby.
See Where Your SKUs Are. Sell Them from the Sky.
Real-time milestone tracking lets you know which goods are where. With visibility down to the SKU, there’s no guesswork. Skip the stockouts and clinch sales like a boss.
Nail Compliance. Breeze Through Clearances
Within minutes of receiving your shipment docs, the Flexport Platform validates your data against your Product Library for accuracy and any errors. That way, your Flexport customs broker has your back while cargo moves ahead.
Connect Ground Teams for End-to-End Control
After goods land, you want the same speed on the ground. The Flexport Platform connects drivers and warehouses to align on cargo availability and delivery times. No need to micromanage—notifications alert everyone to progress or exceptions.
Build Reports in Minutes with Searchable Data
Share metrics for success and budget future launches with cost and transit time reporting. Hit the search bar, review in minutes, or schedule to send later.
Dive into Tools That Feel Like Toys
Review landed costs to see how air freight pays off. Obsess over on-time performance. Run predictive models, compare transport modes, or drill down to the SKU.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Flexport Air Freight?
Flexport Air Freight is a full-service air freight forwarding solution that manages the end-to-end movement of cargo via air - from origin pickup and export customs clearance through flight booking, in-transit tracking, import clearance, and final delivery. Unlike traditional forwarders that rely on manual coordination, Flexport's air freight service runs on an AI-native operations platform that automates routing, planning, and exception management. Shippers get real-time visibility into their cargo at every milestone, plus access to analytics and reporting tools to manage costs and performance. Flexport handles both standard air cargo and time-critical shipments, with charter options available for dedicated capacity needs.
What types of air freight services does Flexport offer?
Flexport offers several air freight service types to match different shipping needs:
- Standard air freight: Scheduled commercial capacity for time-sensitive cargo that doesn't require the fastest possible transit
- Express or expedited air freight: Priority routing for urgent shipments with tighter delivery windows
- Charter air freight: Dedicated aircraft capacity, primarily from Asia, for shippers who need guaranteed space and maximum reliability
- Dangerous goods (DG) shipping: Certified handling for hazardous materials with full compliance support
- High-security cargo: Shipment-level GPS tracking, in-person escorts, and geofencing for high-value goods
All service types are managed through the Flexport Platform, giving shippers unified visibility and control regardless of which service they use.
How does Flexport Air Freight improve visibility and control?
Flexport provides real-time tracking at every stage of an air shipment - from the moment cargo leaves the origin facility through customs clearance, flight departures and arrivals, and final delivery. The Flexport Platform digitizes all shipment documents and structures the data so teams can search, report, and act on it without chasing emails or spreadsheets. When exceptions occur, like a delayed flight or a customs hold, the platform flags them immediately with full context, so shippers and their Flexport operations team can course-correct before the issue compounds. Landed cost reporting and mode comparison tools are also built in, so teams can evaluate air against ocean and make informed tradeoff decisions down to the SKU level.
What industries can use Flexport Air Freight?
Flexport Air Freight is used across industries where speed, reliability, or cargo sensitivity are priorities:
- Retail and ecommerce: Replenishing fast-moving inventory, hitting seasonal deadlines, or responding to unexpected demand spikes
- Consumer electronics: Moving high-value, time-sensitive components and finished goods, particularly on Asia-US trade lanes
- Apparel and fashion: Meeting tight launch windows and minimizing markdowns from late arrivals
- Pharmaceuticals and life sciences: Temperature-sensitive or compliance-critical shipments requiring certified handling
- Automotive and industrial: Urgent parts shipments to prevent production line stoppages
- Humanitarian and NGO: Emergency cargo requiring speed, reliability, and chain-of-custody documentation
Flexport's platform scales to fit companies shipping a few critical loads per month as well as high-volume shippers moving cargo across multiple trade lanes simultaneously.
How much does Flexport Air Freight cost?
Air freight costs depend on several factors: chargeable weight (the greater of actual weight and volumetric weight), origin and destination, service type, fuel surcharges, and any applicable customs or handling fees. As a general benchmark, air freight typically costs 4–6x more per kilogram than ocean freight - but for time-sensitive or high-value cargo, the speed premium often offsets inventory carrying costs, stockout risk, or markdown exposure.
Flexport makes it easy to calculate true landed costs — including duties, taxes, and last-mile fees — so shippers can compare air against ocean on a total-cost basis, not just the freight rate. To get a rate for your specific lanes and cargo, contact us today and someone from our team will reach out shortly.