Air Freight vs Sea Freight
Which is right for your personal effects?

Air freight is faster — 4 to 14 working days to most destinations — and for 1 to 4 bags, it is usually more cost-effective once sea freight minimum charges are applied. Air is the right choice when you need bags to arrive close to your travel date, when you are shipping to a destination with limited sea port infrastructure, or when the total weight is under 100kg. From our base at MetEx House, Hounslow — two miles from Heathrow — every air consignment goes through Heathrow cargo.

Sea freight becomes economical at higher volumes — typically 5 or more bags, or boxes equivalent to a quarter-container or more. Transit times range from 10 days to European ports to 68 days to New Zealand, so sea freight requires advance planning. The per-kilogram cost is significantly lower than air for large volumes. If you are moving permanently and have no time pressure, sea freight is almost always the better financial decision.

Many customers relocating internationally use both: air freight for the essentials they need on arrival — work clothes, toiletries, important documents — and sea freight for the bulk of their household goods. This is particularly common on Australia, New Zealand and USA routes where sea transit times are long. We advise on the split at booking.