Air vs Ocean

The same shipment, priced both ways. This works the air chargeable weight and the ocean revenue tons from your cargo, applies your rates, and frames the real question — not just which is cheaper, but how much you pay per day saved to fly it.

Shipment

Length (cm, per piece)

Width (cm)

Height (cm)

Pieces

Actual weight (kg, total)

Air divisor (cm³/kg)

Air leg

Air rate ($/kg)

Air fixed costs ($)

Air transit (days, door to door)

Ocean leg (LCL)

Ocean rate ($/revenue ton)

Ocean fixed costs ($)

Ocean transit (days, door to door)

Cost per day saved by air

per day saved

Air freight total —

Ocean freight total —

Cheaper option —

Transit time —

Cheaper isn’t the whole question

Ocean almost always wins on price; air almost always wins on speed. The decision that matters is what the speed costs: the extra you pay for air, divided by the days it saves. A container of slow-moving stock and a pallet of parts that are holding up a production line deserve different answers even at the same rates.

Cost per day saved = (air total − ocean total) ÷ (ocean days − air days)

Same cargo, two billing bases

Air bills the chargeable weight — the greater of actual and volumetric — while ocean LCL bills revenue tons, the greater of the cubic metres and the tonnes. This tool derives both from your dimensions and weight, so the comparison is like for like before your rates are even applied.

A planning estimate. Real quotes carry fuel, security, and peak surcharges, and door-to-door transit varies with routing and customs.