Cargo/Freight Help
 

Hi,

I hope this is the right place to post.

I am moving from Michigan, USA to Bombay, India.

I need to send some personal goods, e.g. winter jackets, shoes etc via cargo/freight.

All the commercial airlines do NOT accept any unaccompanied baggage after 9/11.

Does anyone know of any good cargo agent, freight forwarder etc., who can either send my goods by cargo air, or ocean freight.

I really need this help

Thanks
Raj

I am almost 100% certain airlines are still running cargo services. You could use them. Check to see the prices. Or, go with someone like Emory or Airborne. Or maybe UPS.

I tried calling NWA and BA and both said that we do not take unaccompanied baggage unless you have shipped with us before.

I would appreciate any help. I hate looking up in the yellow pages and going with any random freight forwarder.

Thanks a lot
Raj

I just shipped an oven home from New Zealand via Air NewZealand to LAX and then via AA from there. It was not accompanied.

Try some other carriers - maybe non-US carriers would be your best bet. After that, it might be UPS.

I realize you are going to USA-India, and I only know about USA-Europe.

I take extra luggage Italy-USA at a rate of about $75 per 32kg unit. Maximum dimension is 63". The dimension limit is not enforced. I haul 3-5 of these at a time, frequently. It is much less expensive than UPS/DHL/ commercial airfreight, and even less than ocean freight. The rate is governed by an agreement of some sort.

I would recommend that you spend a lot of time checking the rate on the airline you are traveling. If you cannot get answers over the phone, go to the airport and talk to the people who look up the rate. They are at a separate desk, usually not at the check-in counter.

This is not overweight luggage, but more checked luggage. Do not exceed the max allowed weight for each package.

The new problem exists because the US carriers are required to only accept shipments from "known shippers". This policy was in place prior to 9-11 but was not used as a method of restricting cargo traffic. In DTW there are literly hundreds of forwarders capable of handling your freight. I suggest that you contact the air carrier you plan on using for your travel and have them suggest forwarders that they use. The other option is to ship via UPS, Airborne, Emory etc...

The reason that our friend was able to get his oven on NZ was the known shipper program is not in place with foreign flag carriers, in non US cities and when AA accepted it, it was now from a known shipper... NZ Secondly, there are no conflicts with "connecting" feight... an issue soon to be addressed

Thanks for explaining why I was able to ship home the oven Desert Flyer.

Just to add to what a previous poster wrote, if it's at all possible to travel with your extra pieces and keep them under 70 kg, I believe it is, it would be far cheaper to pay the extra baggage fee than to pay a cargo hauler. DHL wanted about $600 to ship the oven (Air New Zealand only $250), but extra checked pieces would have only been $40. Unfortunately, the oven was too heavy to check.

Edited for typos

[This message has been edited by letiole (edited 06-20-2002).]

Thanks for all your replies.

It has boiled down to two options

a)Check in the extra luggage as excess baggage with the airline. This is at a rate of $132 (approx) for 32 KILOGRAMS (72lbs).

However, this would mean sending the extra luggage from DTW to NYC since my USA-India flight is from NYC.

b)Send it as Air Freight via a freight forwarder. His rates at approximately $367/- for a minimum of 100 KILOGRAMS.

Although it makes more sense to just take the baggage with me as excess baggage, it may be tough to clear 5-6 or more pieces of luggage at Indian customs at one time.

Given that, is air freight usually reliable, safe?...it will be easier for me to clear it through customs if sent via air freight as opposed to taking it all with me on the flight.

Thanks
Raj

Having never been to India, I can only imagine that the process would be to claim the shipped stuff at a bonded warehouse some place near the airport after you arrive.
Take into account the hassle factor and weigh it against the cost... and yes I feel that air freight is safe... but I wouldn't send my very valuables that way.

As a whole, it sure is. Do you know how much stuff gets shipped via air freight/cargo these days? Lots and lots of suff. For example, how do you think we can get all sorts of fresh fish in a place like Dallas or wherever?

I can't comment on a particular carrier or shipments to a particular place like India, but air cargo ain't exactly a crap shoot.

I'd take your stuff with you. Hanging around Heathrow and Gatwick and watching the MOUNTAINS of luggage people from India and Africa were bringing into the UK would leave me to believe that Indian customs would be sorta used to this phenomenon.

Plus items being shipped in air freight also have to pass through customs and (depending on the contents) might have to be handled by a customs broker, etc.

I ran into a similar situation where one of my co-workers had wound up with two of his wifes bags in London. It was very expensive to ship back home so he asked us to bring them back with us to the States. My boss, honest soul that he is, answered the question about having packed all his baggage truthfully. He had some serious 'splaining to do in the security room at Gatwick about why he was traveling with a group of guys and one of his suitcases was full of WOMEN'S clothing. My supervisor, bright guy that he is, lied about the extra bag he was carrying and slipped through undetected.

Alternatively you could do a door-to-door sea freight type thing. A 20 foot container with insurance etc. could cost as little as $1200 and would probably take 4-6 weeks. While this may seem expensive and long, you could literally take thousands of pounds of stuff.