With factories closing across China, ahead of Sunday’s start of the Lunar new year holidays, air freight demand on major routes has continued to decline, prompting our commercial team to remind their colleagues what makes Metro’s air freight product stand out from the crowd.

With air freight rates now significantly below 2021 levels, the market is normalising and means that time-sensitive shippers could benefit from some significant opportunities on the most popular trade-lanes…the perfect time to highlight our air freight and time-sensitive credentials!

One of the UK’s leading logistics exporters by air, Metro are recognised as an award winning innovator for air cargo, with strategic relationships at regional airport hubs, including Heathrow, Birmingham and Manchester.

Freight

We ensure that your cargo always arrives on time, at the lowest cost, by using the optimum blend of carriers, service and transit time. Always ensuring that you have the right balance of expected transit and cost and every option available in a turbulent time-critical market.

Charter

We leverage our long-standing carrier relationships, or as we prefer to consider them partnerships, to secure and position cost-effective charter aircraft for urgent cargo and project shipment needs.

Courier

We have access to the most competitive integrator rates and services for valuable consignments and samples, with solutions for the most urgent requirements.

Our team

We share a sense of urgency and attention to detail, anticipating issues and preventing them from happening, or working around them whatever the challenge – we have our finger on the daily aviation pulse. We communicate openly with each other, customers, partners and carriers. Together we are committed to continuous improvement. Optimising every movement and ensuring deadlines are met – in fact that will always be one of our first questions – what delivery date is required?

We operate regular inbound and outbound consolidation services and work with leading global carriers, together with selected regional carriers, and where needed our own dedicated charter flights. Total control.

By integrating carrier schedules, we offer the widest choice of routes, transit and services, to provide the most cost-effective solutions for every need, from next flight out to time-definite and economy.

Key products

We are dangerous goods specialists, for all hazard types and are particularly skilled in the safe handling and transportation of Lithium Batteries.

Our team offer European cross-trade solutions, that complement export and import services. We cover the world with our network – the majority of the air freight movements we carry do not originate or are destined for UK/ Europe.

When market conditions are favourable our Sea/Air solutions via our dedicated Singapore and Dubai hubs are the most cost-effective, reliable, secure and flexible solution available in the market.

We handle all types of cargo, door-to-door, dealing with paperwork and arranging customs clearance anywhere in the world, for a wide range of verticals including garments, food and beverage products, retail consumer goods, automotive and chemicals. 

Shipments move directly from origin to destination, or on cross-trade routes embracing Europe | USA | ISC | SE Asia | China | Latin America. We always provide every option available as standard, to and from every destination globally.

For further details on our time critical movements, air freight products or ‘distressed ocean freight’ please contact Elliot Carlile who will talk you through the current week's solutions, or long term contracted fixed validity rates, that we can deliver throughout 2023. Listening to the requirements, designing and creating solutions is what Elliot thrives on, with his team of cargo aviation experts – proven and proactive.

COVID had a profound impact on air travel and the airports that support it, with the bulk of the world’s airline fleet grounded, global passenger volumes down 75% and Heathrow slipping to Europe’s 10th busiest airport during the pandemic.

Aviation especially saw a decline within passenger traffic during the pandemic, with passenger volumes dropping 75%, while air cargo only saw a 21% reduction.

Heathrow regained its status as Europe’s busiest hub airport during the summer beating its rivals in Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Madrid.

And, in a remarkable turnaround, Heathrow was the second busiest airport for international flights in November, behind Dubai, which are the same positions the pair held in 2019, before the pandemic.

Heathrow remained the UK’s lifeline by maintaining strong cargo throughput, transporting 1.4m tonnes, including vital supplies such as PPE, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals including vaccinations.

With airlines reconfiguring their fleets for cargo, the revenue contribution from this sector increased from 12% in 2019 to 40.3% in 2021 and the expectations are for cargo to account for 27.7% of airlines’ total revenue in 2022.

Although airfreight only accounted for 1% of goods by volume, pre-pandemic, airfreight represented 40% of goods by value.

In 2021, Heathrow was the UK’s most valuable port, seeing £153bn in non-EU imports and exports passing through the hub, handling 75% of all UK air cargo and more cargo by value than all other UK airports combined and serving 354 destinations in the process.

This significant figure shows the unique position of Heathrow and the vital role airfreight plays as an enabler of import and export trade.

The role airfreight plays in keeping Britain trading cannot be understated.

Heathrow’s cargo tonnage has risen to 87% of pre-pandemic levels and while Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam’s cargo volumes have recovered faster, they process less belly-hold cargo, which is growing at Heathrow, as more passenger flights return.

Despite the slip in cargo recovery, Heathrow remains confident for the future with plans to invest in infrastructure over the next fIve years to grow capacity and the sustainability and efficiency of its operation.

It will grow the airport’s airfreight proposition, in cooperation with the Heathrow Cargo Community.

In July 2015, the independent Airports Commission reported the conclusions of its three-year study examining the need for additional capacity to maintain the UK’s position as Europe’s most important aviation hub.

With overall UK airfreight volumes 8% lower in 2021 than in 2019, the expansion of Heathrow with a third runway has the potential to significantly grow airfreight capacity.

Heathrow Airport is the only hub airport within the UK and the only airport which accepts both European and international cargo freight, serving 350 destinations in 80 countries.

The expansion of Heathrow does come with its own challenges and approval of a third runway - with the potential for an additional 260,000 flights annually - has been controversial. The airport is currently seeking a development consent order (DCO), a type of planning permission for nationally significant infrastructure.

While our Heathrow team continue to handle increasing cargo volumes, we monitor market capacity and identify opportunities to use regional airports - and particularly our Birmingham hub - when it will benefit our customers, ensuring that expectations and timelines are met.

We find solutions for every critical shipment. Please call Elliot Carlile to discuss your situation, requirements and potential resolutions for your products that need to be in the right place at the right time. At the right price. We have the answer.