How to Become a Air Freight Manager

About Air Freight Manager

An Air Freight Manager is a person who oversees the goods delivery department of an airline company. He/she is responsible for ensuring that the correct procedures are being followed during operations such as the loading, storing and unloading of goods to and from an aeroplane. Since an Air Freight Manager managers the cargo operations of an airline company, the post is also referred to as Air Cargo Manager. The basic responsibility of an Air Freight Manager is to ensure that all of the goods are delivered in good shape to the correct receiver.

In order to carry out their duties, Air Freight Managers are required to keep an eye on the overall operations of the cargo delivery business. He/she stays in touch with the staff and personnel carrying out the related tasks and has to manually keep a check on the inbound and outbound cargo of a company. He/she also has to ensure that the correct database is maintained and any issues or delays faced by a customer are resolved in a timely manner.

Apart from managing the operations of freight delivery, an Air Freight Manager is also given the responsibility of managing the business end. A person holding the post of an Air Freight Manager will be required to create business plans and ensure the efficiency of operations to increase the profitability of the delivery business. Since cargo delivery brings in a majority share of profits for an airline company, the job of an Air Freight Manager is very important. 

Eligibility to become Air Freight Manager

Air Freight Managers are generally expected to have a management-focused formal education. However, this varies widely from company to company and also because of the varied responsibilities that an Air Freight Manager might be expected to fulfil. Some companies consider a bachelor's degree (can be in any discipline) sufficient for Air Freight Managers while you might find others insisting on postgraduate education such as an MBA. Apart from that, work experience is one very essential condition for Air Freight Managers as it is a senior-level position and requires practical knowledge of the field. Given below are some of the courses that you can pursue to become an Air Freight Manager.

UG Courses for Air Freight Managers

If you want to go for an Air Freight Manager role after completing your postgraduate education, you can pursue any bachelor's degree course that is valid for an MBA. However, here are some courses whose curriculum are best suited for the role.

PG Courses for Air Freight Managers

When it comes to PG courses, companies generally prefer candidates with specialised MBA degrees (check General vs Specialised MBA) for this role. You can also pursue related courses. Given below are some of the PG courses for Air Freight Managers.

Types of Job Roles Air Freight Manager

As Air Cargo delivery operations involve a variety of departments and a single person is often found insufficient to take care of large-scale operations, Air Freight Managers may be hired for different departments and they may perform various roles. Given below are some of the job roles for Air Freight Managers.

• Assistant Air Freight Manager

• General Air Freight Manager

• Sr. General Air Freight Manager

• Freight Forwarding Manager

• Air Freight Manager - Business Development

• Air Freight Manager - Sales and Marketing

• Operations Manager

• Air Freight - Head of Operations etc.

Employment Sector/Industry for Air Freight Manager

Markets are becoming open and getting an item shipped from a faraway location is very common nowadays. This is because nowadays a buyer can rest assured that a product that they have purchased from a foreign market will reach their doorstep safely and within a short amount of time. This has been partly achieved due to the success of able logistics managers who have come up with solutions that caused mashups or delays. Hence, the air cargo shipment industry is also seeing an increase in the number of orders and is currently one of the fastest ways to gets goods and items delivered from one place to the other.

Air Freight Managers are a piece of this puzzle as these professionals make sure that the whole machinery runs smoothly and every customer receives their package. Companies are also investing more in hiring such personnel as they help a company handle its cargo operations in a better manner, which on one hand directly helps the company save costs and on the other hand helps attract more customers and bring in business for the company. Given below are some of the key hiring areas of Air Freight Managers.

• Airline Companies

• Freight Forwarding Companies

• Logistics Management Companies

• Cargo Delivery and Courier Companies etc.

Pay Scale/Salary of Air Freight Manager

The salary details of an Air Freight Manager and related jobs can be found given below.

• The average starting salary for Freight Managers / Cargo Manager or Logistics Managers can be around Rs. 3 - 4 LPA i.e. Rs. 15,000 - 27,000 per month.

• The mid-range or average salary paid to Air Freight Managers or Air Cargo Managers is around Rs. 10 LPA.

• On the higher-end, Air Freight Managers in India can get a compensation of Rs. 16 - 17 LPA or higher.

Books & Study Material to Become Air Freight Manager

Pros of becoming a Air Freight Manager

• The field has good salary packages for professionals and you can get good growth with experience and skill growth.

• You get to enjoy the perks of working with an airline industry.

• Bachelor's degree and good work experience are sufficient to climb up to this role.

Cons of becoming a Air Freight Manager

• Professionals often have to endure long working hours.

• Work is usually done in shifts. Professionals are required to work in different shifts, as the company may require.

• It is more of an on-the-field job. However, this will depend on which division you are handling.