A shiny object on the tarmac
An exciting shipment caught the eye of whoever passed by gate E23 at Zurich Airport. On the tarmac, a shiny, dark green Shelby Cobra 289 from 1964 was waiting to be loaded into the belly of one of our Boeing 777-300ER to depart for Los Angeles. Based on the excitement of the loading crew and the passers-by, it was clear that this shipment was not like any other that day and required special attention from all parties involved.

A carefully coordinated process of moving the vehicle into the belly of our SWISS aircraft
Since the vehicle was not additionally protected by packaging, it was even more critical that every person coming into contact with it was well-trained and very cautious. The loading crew seemed to have enjoyed the challenge. Thanks to the carefully coordinated cooperation of over 10 Swissport employees, the Shelby got successfully loaded on two loading positions in the belly of the Boeing 777-300ER without a scratch.

The role of air cargo in car logistics: Delivering high-value vehicles as fast as possible with minimal risk
c.a.r. logistics ltd, the shipper of this Shelby Cobra car, in cooperation with freight forwarder Rhenus Logistics Berne, shared a few interesting insights with Mirco Sutter and Christian Wick – the Swiss WorldCargo sales colleagues responsible for this order. They explained that, although airfreight is probably the most expensive way to transport a vehicle, more and more customers are requesting this type of service. There are various reasons for this:

First of all, airfreight transport is much faster than, for example, sea freight, let alone the fact that, as a rule, airfreight is more reliable than shipping goods across the water. Additionally, the prices for maritime transport have risen sharply, narrowing the price difference between this modality and airfreight. Last but not least, the risk of vehicle loss is much lower with airfreight than in the case of a sea shipment, which makes premiums for transport insurance cheaper.

Expert handling from start to finish, with a particular focus on customs clearance
When it comes to transportation and relocation services for classic cars, vintage cars, and very exclusive high-end cars, various aspects need to be considered. There is a lot of administration and bureaucracy involved, and customs clearance plays a big part in the process: the logistics service provider needs to know exactly what clearance options are available, which ones need to be done, and when. Also, it is crucial that the correct value of the vehicle is declared. The differences in the value of collector vehicles are enormous and can hardly be determined by a non-specialist; therefore experts need to take care of the entire transportation process.

Additionally, front-line staff such as the drivers need to be specially trained, as they need to know how and where a car can be used and secured without damaging it. Since there are many different vehicles, only experience helps to complete tasks with excellence.

Especially in the case of airfreight, an additional process step needs to be considered; the dangerous goods declaration and handling. It is important to remember that a car is considered ‘dangerous goods’ when shipped via the air. Therefore, special training is required to be allowed to ship a car by airfreight, and meticulous care must be taken to ensure that all regulations are met.

Shipping vehicles via air is clearly a complicated process. We are happy to witness that customers such as c.a.r. logistics ltd, in cooperation with freight forwarder Rhenus Logistics Berne, chose to work with Swiss WorldCargo due to our direct connections, reliability, and ability to take care of this special type of cargo throughout its entire journey with us.