Moving by air: what are the transportation costs?

For their international move, your mobile workforce is granted two types of rights to move their goods abroad: transportation by air and transportation by sea or by road. Of course, these two modes of transportation do not involve the same travel time and are distinguished primarily by the cost of transport. The costs of air transport are on average two to four times more expensive and is primarily intended for personal necessities.

What is the difference between moving personal belongings and moving personal property?

As a mobility manager, you need to clarify to employees what policies do they have to use air or sea transport to move their personal belongings abroad.

First of all, it is important to know the difference between personal property and personal effects. These two terms seem similar but do not cover the same scope:

• Personal effects are light goods, personal belongings that can be stored in closets and that do not take up much space: linen, clothes, books, dishes, toys, small decorative items…
• The personal goods are most often associated with bulky objects such as furniture, bicycles, appliances, lighting and paintings for example.

The costs of a move by plane

Airline companies charge a lot of money for transporting furniture because it is usually bulky… In this case, the costs of an air shipment can exceed the amount of the furniture purchase locally.

It is therefore preferable to use air transport for personal effects because for “small” volumes of less than 3m3, air transport often competes with sea transport in terms of costs, without forgetting that buying back personal effects once they have arrived in the destination country can ultimately prove to be much more expensive than moving them by air.

Let’s take an example with the calculation of the cost of moving personal effects (clothes) compared to the cost of moving personal property (baby equipment)

• If moving clothes by air:
  • In 1 box, it is easy to fit about 20 shirts and 10 skirts or pants. The total value of the goods contained in 1 box can be around 1500€, if we consider that the average value of each garment is 50€.
  • Thus, 10 standard boxes of clothes represent a volume of about 1m3 for a total value of the goods transported of 15 000 €. If these personal effects are not quickly available to the expatriate and he must buy back a large part of them for himself and his family, the buy-back value will be far from negligible.
• Now, if moving childcare equipment such as a changing table and a crib by plane, the total volume of these personal belongings can quickly reach 1 m3.
• However, the purchase of this type of equipment on the spot should not exceed 1000 € maximum. The calculation is quickly done!

So, personal effects or personal goods, it is essential to rightly decide which goods are to be considered and to be sent by plane, taking into account the country of destination, the immediate needs of the employees in mobility and your mobility policy.

And beware, moving by air is certainly more expensive as airlines charge for goods transported at their advantage (according to the actual weight, if the shipment is heavy, or the volume, if the shipment is light). But some personal belongings, which will take a long time to arrive at their destination, may have to be bought back at destination. The cost of this replacement may be greater than the cost of air freight. Additional costs will have to be borne by the employee and/or the company.

Finally, it is necessary to remember that it is not possible to move everything. Some goods are subject to restrictions.  The customs authorities are competent and can provide useful information on which goods are subject to restrictions or prohibitions.  

At MRS, our team are made up of professionals with proven experience in each of the trades involved in mobility. Our logistics and transportation specialists can provide you unbiased advice on these issues! Learn more about move management.