Compare cost per day, not cost per kilo
Air freight is almost always more expensive per kilo. The comparison that matters is what a day of delay costs you: idle production line, missed retail window, or a penalty clause in a customer contract.
Put a number on one day of delay. If it exceeds the air premium, the decision is made for you.
When we recommend charter
Charter makes sense for outsized freight, temperature-critical pharmaceutical batches and production stops. On forty hours' notice we can usually have an aircraft committed and freight screening underway.
The hybrid option most shippers miss
Partial airlift is often enough: fly the critical pallets and let the balance travel by ocean on the same booking. It protects the deadline without paying air rates on the whole consignment.