Air cargo players have been increasing their digital booking offerings over the past years in response to volatilities in the market triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic which saw operations switch online.

Freightos said that based on a survey carried out by the booking portal, in the last two years enough airlines have leveraged the opportunities created by third-party platforms to make nearly 40% of global capacity available online ⁠— shifting to air cargo eBooking.

It noted that 46% of air cargo carriers now allow instant rate searches for quotes on their websites compared with the 10% in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic.

It added that 33% also now offer instant confirmation for e-booking compared to the 25% in 2019 while 40% offer instant rate search and eBooking on third-party platforms. Meanwhile, 25% offer contract, spot, booking, and tracking APIs compared to none in 2019.

Nonetheless, the booking portal noted that there is still room for development, with just 21% of air cargo carriers offering instant allotment booking and only 4% allowing payments to be made online for now.

Freightos also said 46% of leading air carriers provide instant rate search through third-party platforms and 42% also enable e-booking through these channels and shipment tracking is also widely available, with 42% of carriers now providing this as an option.

The booking portal added that the adoption rate of third-party platforms was also higher in air than ocean, where only 18% offer e-booking on portals based on the results of its survey.

Freightos said the volatility of air cargo during the last two years served as a "catalyst" for this trend.

"In the fragmented air market – compared to the consolidated ocean market and the growing leverage the pandemic has shifted to ocean carriers – airlines are eager for the low-touch access to new customers, new segments, and new geographies that platforms represent, even at the cost of making price and service comparisons easier," the report said.

It added that the rush on PPE early in the pandemic as passenger travel plummeted, was an "extreme example of the volatility" in the air cargo industry over the last two years.

"The fast pace of air transport only quickened as labour shortages and ever-shifting quarantine requirements led to frequent operational changes," Freightos said.