The Air Cargo Industry

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Question #2: The Air Cargo Industry
Throughout history, transportation of cargo has been considered the most important facet of all modes of transportation. Even before carrying passengers, aircraft were used to carry mail. This was the beginning of the commercial airline industry. Since then, air cargo has continued to grow and while in today’s age, passenger carriers eclipse cargo, many believe that carrying cargo will become dominant in the 21st century. In order to fully understand how air cargo operates, it is important to understand the three elements that go into air cargo services. These are air mail, air express, and air freight.
Elements of Air Cargo The first element of air cargo is air mail. Air mail was the first air cargo service, …show more content…

Ultimately, efforts would be made to create specific air mail routes and under the control of the U.S. Post Office, the air mail industry began to grow. Control was eventually transferred away from the Post Office and given to private contractors where it continued to flourish and eventually give birth to the commercial airline industry. Following the creation of air mail was air express. Air express “refers to small packages that usually have a higher priority of carriage than air freight.” Air express service began in 1927 and was rife with issues throughout its infancy. It wasn’t until 1973 when Frederick Smith began the dedicated carrier Federal Express that air express came to fruition and turned a considerable profit. The final element is air freight. Air freight is defined as “traffic carried in all-cargo aircraft.” In other words, cargo which is …show more content…

Assembly service is when airlines consolidate packages and charge based on the total weight of all pieces. This allows shippers a price break on particularly heavy shipments. Distribution service is similar to assembly service in that it accepts one shipment from the shipper. It differs in that at the destination the airline will split the shipment and deliver to multiple customers from the one shipment. Lastly, pickup and delivery service is when local truckers under contract with the carrier pickup and deliver cargo in the local areas. Additional services which will not be discussed include high value items, dangerous goods, and restricted

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