Learning Hub

Air Freight Learning Hub

Documentation, dangerous goods regulations, and how air freight actually works on this corridor — in plain language, sourced and cited.

Get a Rate

49 guides, and counting

Every guide below is real, published content — no placeholders, no “coming soon” cards.

Air Freight Fundamentals

What is an Air Waybill?

An Air Waybill (AWB) is the contract of carriage between a shipper and an airline for air freight — not a document of title. Learn what it contains, MAWB vs HAWB, and how AWB numbering works.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Master AWB vs House AWB

Master AWB vs House AWB: who issues each, who's liable if something goes wrong, and what happens when a consolidated shipment's HAWB cargo gets separated from its MAWB in transit.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Air Freight Documentation Checklist

The complete document checklist for an air freight shipment: commercial invoice, packing list, AWB, Certificate of Origin, DEL reference for pharma, and DGR declarations where relevant.

Dangerous Goods & Compliance

Dangerous Goods in Air Freight: A Shipper's Overview

What IATA's Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) actually require, the 9 hazard classes, who's legally required to complete Shipper's Declaration training, and when a commodity needs DG handling.

Dangerous Goods & Compliance

Dry Ice Shipping Rules for Air Freight

Dry ice as air cargo: UN 1845, Class 9, PI 954. The 200kg per package limit, vented packaging requirement, prior carrier arrangement, and the one exemption most guidance leaves out.

Dangerous Goods & Compliance

Lithium Battery Air Shipping Rules

UN 3480/3481 (lithium ion) vs UN 3090/3091 (lithium metal) air freight rules: which Packing Instruction applies for batteries alone, packed with equipment, or installed in it.

Dangerous Goods & Compliance

The Shipper's Declaration for Dangerous Goods: How It Works

What the Shipper's Declaration for Dangerous Goods actually requires, who's authorized to sign it, and what happens when a shipment is declared incorrectly.

Air Freight Fundamentals

CASS Settlement Explained

What IATA's Cargo Accounts Settlement System (CASS) actually is, how it settles charges between agents, carriers, and IATA, and how UAL's own single Halifax accreditation runs through it.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Incoterms for Air Freight: Which Ones Actually Apply

FCA, CPT, and CIP govern air freight under Incoterms 2020 — FOB and CIF are sea-freight-only terms. A real comparison of which Incoterms apply to air cargo and which don't.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Air Freight vs. Sea Freight: When Each One Actually Makes Sense

Air freight vs. ocean freight, honestly: transit time, cost, and the specific use cases where air freight's premium is actually worth paying — and where it isn't.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Freight Consolidation & Groupage Explained

How freight consolidation (groupage) works: multiple shippers' cargo under one Master AWB, and why that's the backbone of UAL's neutral-agent model on the Canada–South Asia–ASEAN corridor.

Air Freight Fundamentals

EXW (Ex Works) Explained

EXW under Incoterms 2020: the seller's goods are made available at their own premises and every other obligation — export clearance, freight, insurance — falls to the buyer.

Air Freight Fundamentals

FCA (Free Carrier) Explained

FCA under Incoterms 2020: the ICC's own recommended term for air and multimodal cargo. Where risk transfers, why it fixes EXW's export-clearance gap, and a real KUL-YYZ worked example.

Air Freight Fundamentals

FOB (Free on Board): Why It Doesn't Apply to Air Freight

FOB is one of 4 Incoterms 2020 rules restricted to sea and inland waterway transport. Why shippers still cite it on air waybills out of habit, and why FCA is the correct air-freight equivalent.

Air Freight Fundamentals

CPT (Carriage Paid To) Explained

CPT under Incoterms 2020: the seller pays carriage to a named destination, but risk transfers to the buyer earlier, at handover to the first carrier — not at delivery.

Air Freight Fundamentals

CIP (Carriage and Insurance Paid To) Explained

CIP under Incoterms 2020: like CPT, but the seller must also insure the cargo to Institute Cargo Clauses A — the highest standard level. Where risk actually transfers, and when to use it.

Air Freight Fundamentals

DAP (Delivered at Place) Explained

DAP under Incoterms 2020: the seller bears risk and cost all the way to the named destination, ready for unloading — but the buyer still handles import clearance and duties.

Air Freight Fundamentals

DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) Explained

DDP under Incoterms 2020: maximum seller obligation — the seller delivers at destination, cleared for import, duties and taxes paid. What that requires in practice, and the customs mechanics behind it.

Air Freight Fundamentals

DPU (Delivered at Place Unloaded) Explained

DPU under Incoterms 2020: the only Incoterm requiring the seller to unload the goods at destination. How it differs from DAP and DDP, and the customs mechanics that still apply.

Dangerous Goods & Compliance

IATA DGR Class 3: Flammable Liquids in Air Freight

Class 3 flammable liquids under the IATA DGR: the flash-point classification, packing groups, the perfumes/cosmetics misdeclaration risk, and the ID 8000 consumer commodity exception.

Dangerous Goods & Compliance

IATA DGR Packaging, Marking, and Labeling: The General Rules

The cross-class packaging, marking, and labeling requirements every IATA DGR shipment shares — UN specification packaging, label durability, size and placement rules.

Dangerous Goods & Compliance

Importing Dangerous Goods by Air into Canada: Transport Canada & CBSA Requirements

How Transport Canada's TDG framework and CBSA customs clearance intersect for dangerous goods air imports — the ICAO Technical Instructions incorporation, the shipping document, and Canada-specific formatting.

Air Freight Fundamentals

e-AWB vs Paper AWB

Electronic Air Waybill (e-AWB) vs the traditional paper AWB: what changed under IATA Resolution 672, which trade lanes still require paper, and what UAL needs from shippers either way.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Chargeable Weight & Dimensional Weight, Explained

How air freight chargeable weight is calculated: the IATA volumetric divisor of 6000, when volumetric weight exceeds actual weight, and a worked example.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Freight Forwarder vs Cargo Broker: What UAL Actually Does

Freight forwarder vs customs broker vs cargo broker: who arranges carriage, who's licensed to clear customs, and where UAL sits in that chain on this corridor.

Canada Import Fundamentals

CBSA Import Requirements for Air Freight

What CBSA actually requires to clear an air freight shipment into Canada: commercial invoice, cargo control document, classification, value for duty, and release options.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Montreal Convention: Carrier Liability and Claims Basics

The Montreal Convention's cargo liability limit (22 SDR/kg), how it applies to loss, damage, and delay, and how declared value for carriage changes the calculation.

Air Cargo Security

Known Consignor Status and Cargo Security Screening

Transport Canada's Air Cargo Security Program: Known Consignor and Account Consignor status, what they mean for screening at the airport, and how PACT/PLACI fits alongside them.

Air Freight Fundamentals

TACT Rates Explained

IATA's TACT (The Air Cargo Tariff): what it originally standardized, why it's now mainly a rules and reference standard rather than a live pricing mechanism, and what actually sets air freight rates today.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Peak Season and Fuel Surcharges, Explained

How air freight peak season capacity crunches and fuel/security surcharges actually work — why base rate isn't the whole story, and when to book ahead of a seasonal spike.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Minimum Booking Lead Times for Air Cargo Space

Why air cargo space needs to be booked ahead of the physical ship date, how lead times shift for DGR, cold chain, and peak season shipments, and what UAL needs from shippers to hold space reliably.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Live Animal (AVI) Air Shipping Basics

How live animal air freight (AVI) actually works: IATA Live Animals Regulations, CFIA import permit requirements, container standards, and why lead time and carrier acceptance matter more here than almost any other commodity.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Valuable Cargo (VAL) Handling

How air carriers handle VAL-classified valuable cargo: security requirements, why the value threshold varies by carrier, and how VAL relates to declared value for carriage and cargo insurance.

Canada Import Fundamentals

Phytosanitary Certificates for Agricultural Exports

What a phytosanitary certificate actually certifies, when Canadian imports require one under CFIA rules, and how the International Plant Protection Convention framework underlies it.

Canada Import Fundamentals

CITES and Endangered Species Shipping Restrictions

How CITES governs air freight of endangered species and their products: the three Appendices, Canada's permit authority under WAPPRIITA, and why misdeclaring a CITES-listed species is a serious offence, not a paperwork slip.

Air Freight Fundamentals

HS Code Classification: How to Find the Right Code

How Harmonized System classification actually works: the 6-digit international core, Canada's 8-10 digit tariff items, the General Rules for Interpretation, and why misclassification is a real CBSA risk, not a minor detail.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Letter of Credit Basics for Air Freight Shippers

How documentary Letters of Credit work for air freight, why an AWB's non-negotiability matters under UCP 600, and what documents a bank typically checks before releasing payment.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Export Documentation Checklist (Canada Origin)

What a commercial export shipment leaving Canada by air actually needs: commercial invoice, export declaration thresholds, permits for controlled goods, and when a B13A applies.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Export Documentation Checklist (ASEAN/South Asia Origin)

Export documentation for shipments leaving Vietnam, India, Thailand, Bangladesh, and other ASEAN/South Asia origins — why requirements genuinely vary by country and can't be treated as one regional checklist.

Trade Corridor Overview

India–Canada Trade Corridor Overview

The India-Canada air freight corridor: why India isn't a CPTPP member (so standard MFN rates apply, not CPTPP preferential rates), the ongoing CEPA negotiations, and what actually moves on this route today.

Trade Corridor Overview

Vietnam–Canada Trade Corridor Overview

The Vietnam-Canada air freight corridor: Vietnam's CPTPP founding-member status, its garments/electronics/footwear export base, and the yarn-forward origin rule that determines whether a shipment actually qualifies for CPTPP treatment.

Trade Corridor Overview

Bangladesh RMG Export Shipping Guide

Bangladesh's ready-made garment exports to Canada: why the Least Developed Country Tariff, not CPTPP, is the real duty story here, the 2025 origin rule relaxation, and Bangladesh's scheduled LDC graduation.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Cross-Border E-Commerce Air Freight Basics

How cross-border e-commerce shipments into Canada actually clear customs: the CAD $40/$150 de minimis thresholds under CUSMA, low-value shipment simplified reporting, and where courier and freight-forwarder models differ.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Cargo Insurance Basics for Freight Forwarders

Why cargo insurance is separate from carrier liability under the Montreal Convention, what an all-risk marine cargo policy typically covers for air shipments, and how it interacts with declared value for carriage.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Temperature-Controlled / Cold Chain Air Freight Basics

How cold chain air freight actually works: active vs passive temperature control, IATA CEIV Pharma certification, dry ice DGR rules, and why cold chain needs to be booked ahead rather than assumed available.

Air Freight Fundamentals

General Cargo Rate Types Explained

GCR, SCR, and class rates in air cargo pricing: how the three interact, which one actually applies to your shipment, and why the cheapest-looking rate type isn't always the one that applies.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Track and Trace: How AWB Status Updates Work

How air cargo tracking actually works: IATA Cargo-IMP/Cargo-XML status messages (FSU, FOH, RCS, DLV), why an AWB number is the tracking key, and why status doesn't always update in real time.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Halal/Kosher Certification for Food Air Exports

How Halal and Kosher certification actually work for food air exports to Canada: who certifies, why it's separate from CFIA's Safe Food for Canadians licensing, and what documentation UAL needs before booking.

Canada Import Fundamentals

Duties and GST on Imports, Explained

How Canadian import duty and GST are actually calculated: value for duty, the two-step calculation sequence, the standard 5% GST rate, and how preferential rates (CPTPP, LDCT) change the outcome.

GET A RATE ·Air Freight from ASEAN to Canada ·CONTACT UAL ·IATA Accredited Neutral Agent ·GET A RATE ·Air Freight from ASEAN to Canada ·CONTACT UAL ·IATA Accredited Neutral Agent ·