There are many modes of transportation now, each with its own advantages. Do you know what are the advantages of air transportation? What are the billing standards for air freight?

I. Advantages of air transportation

(1) Commodity. The product provided by air transportation is a special form of product spatial displacement. Its product form is to change the spatial displacement of the air transportation object. The commodity attribute of air transportation products is finally realized through the purchasing behavior of product users in the air transportation market.

(2) Service. The air transportation industry belongs to the tertiary industry and is a service industry. It reflects the quantity of services by the amount of spatial displacement provided, and reflects the quality of services by service means and service attitude. This attribute determines that carriers must continuously expand their capacity to meet the growing product demand in society, follow the principle of passengers first and users first, and provide product users with safe, convenient, comfortable and punctual quality services.

(3) Internationality. Air transportation has become the most important form of transportation in modern society and a link for international political exchanges and economic cooperation. This includes both international friendly cooperation and fierce international competition. In terms of services, freight rates, technical coordination, business management, and the formulation and implementation of laws and regulations, they are all subject to the constraints of international unified standards and the influence of the international air transport market.

(4) Quasi-military nature. Human aviation activities are first put into the military field and then turned to civilian use. In modern warfare, the mastery of air supremacy is an important factor in gaining the initiative in war. Therefore, many countries have stipulated in their laws that the fleets and related personnel owned by air transport enterprises serve the national economic construction in peacetime and serve as military reserve forces. In wartime or emergency, civil aviation can be requisitioned by the state in accordance with legal procedures to serve military needs.

(5) Capital, technology, and risk intensiveness. The air transport industry is a high-investment industry. Both transportation tools and other transportation equipment are expensive and costly. Therefore, its operating costs are very high. Due to its high technical requirements, complex equipment operation, and high degree of interdependence between departments, the air transport industry is highly risky in its operation. No government or organization in any country has the corresponding financial resources to subsidize its own air transport enterprises like subsidizing urban public transportation. For this reason, the air transport industry is considered not to be a public welfare undertaking in all countries of the world, and must be profitable in order to maintain its normal operation and development.

(6) Natural monopoly. Due to the huge investment in the air transport industry, the high concentration of capital, technology and risk, the long investment recovery period, the strict restrictions on the qualifications of air transport entities, the high market access threshold, and historical reasons, the air transport industry has formed a natural monopoly in the process of development.

2. Air freight billing standards: General cargo freight rates are applicable to the carriage of general cargo, with 45 kg as the dividing point. The general cargo freight rate above 45 kg is lower than the general cargo freight rate below 45 kg. In many parts of the world, lower freight rates are further announced for higher weight points. For example, the freight rates for 100 kg, 200 kg, 300 kg, and even 1,500 kg.

Different airlines in different regions have minimum freight regulations. The minimum freight rate is the lowest freight rate that an airline can accept for handling a batch of cargo. The minimum freight rate is set by the airline after considering the fixed costs incurred in handling even a small amount of cargo. Regardless of which freight rate is used, the freight rate cannot be lower than the published minimum freight rate. However, there are sometimes exceptions for special cargo freight rates. For this, a special number is usually marked before the relevant freight rate, indicating that "the general minimum freight rate does not apply."