Airline pallets

Air cargo transport is one of the fastest growing branches of international transport. What are the characteristics of air cargo transport? What are the advantages and disadvantages of such transport? And do air freight use pallets as a shipping unit?

What is air cargo transport?

Air cargo is international air transport of goods. It is usually carried out by transport aircraft, which allow you to quickly transport large amounts of goods over long distances. Air cargo transport is carried out using air containers and air pallets. It should be emphasized that air cargo is the fastest means of transport. It may also be an element of multimodal transport, which, in addition to transport aircraft, will also use other means of transport such as trucks or railways. 

Air cargo is often used to transport goods from distant corners of the world - for example from China to Poland. It is usually used to transport goods with a very short expiry date, perishable goods, e.g. groceries, flowers, as well as high-value goods. It is estimated that goods worth ⅓ of all international trade are transported by air freight (with a market share of 1% of all international transport). In the case of air transport, the most profitable transport is also light cargo. 

Air Transport allows you to significantly shorten supply chains. Instead of waiting for cargo delivery for 3-4 months, if we use sea freight and the distance between the sender and recipient is several thousand kilometers, transportation by cargo plane can be shortened to 1-2 weeks. 

Advantages and disadvantages of air cargo

The main advantage of air cargo transport is short delivery times. Goods transported by plane do not require customs clearance at individual country borders. At the same time, it is the only one that can reach anywhere in the world. There are no restrictions related to access to the sea (sea freight) or land continuity (rail and road transport). Importantly, air transport is one of the safest ways of transporting goods - accidents are extremely rare. 

However, with the short delivery time, the price for transporting cargo by air increases significantly. It may be even several times more expensive than transporting the same amount of products by sea or rail. Airplanes are also not ecological means of transport, consuming huge amounts of fuel on long routes. Air cargo also differs from sea or rail transport in the way of palletizing and the containers used, which must be adapted to the specific dimensions of the aircraft's cargo space. 

What is an aircraft pallet and what are its features?

Aircraft pallets have little in common with transport pallets used in truck, rail or sea transport. An aircraft pallet is typically an aluminum platform connected to a mesh. The use of aluminum is due to the fact that it is both durable and very light, so it does not have a significant impact on limiting the aircraft's payload and does not increase transport costs. The construction of an air pallet must also ensure the stability and safety of the transported cargo.

Two types of pallets are most often used in air cargo. PMC type air pallets and PAG type air pallets. The PMC pallet has dimensions of 96 x 125 inches, i.e. approx. 244 x 318 cm. Another popular solution are PAG pallets. The dimensions of such a pallet, or rather its base, are 318 x 224 cm. There are also other sizes to suit different aircraft types and logistical requirements.

An important feature of air pallets is their design that allows for quick and easy loading and unloading. Such pallets are equipped with points for attaching nets or straps that secure the load during flight. This prevents the loaded pallet from moving in the cargo hold during the flight, which could lead to loss of stability of the aircraft.