Air-cargo transportation has now become increasingly important for global logistics systems (Wen, Xu, Choi & Chung, 2020). As a result, air cargo is a critical part of modern-day supply chains because it provides efficient and timely delivery of typically time sensitive products (Chen & Jiang, 2020). International airlines - like other third-party service providers – now conduct their business not simply within marketplaces but also within corporately structured supply chains reflecting particular logistics functions and spatial pathways (Robinson, 2005). Air cargo is defined as “anything carried in an aircraft except for mail or luggage carried under a passenger ticket and baggage check but including baggage shipped under an airway bill or shipment record” (Hui, Hui & Zhang, 2004).

In this book, the author, Michael Sales, provides a comprehensive overview of the global air cargo industry. This book consists of seventeen chapters. First, the preliminary section outlined the importance of the air cargo mode for international trade and this is followed by a section explaining how air cargo works. This introductory text helps set the context for what follows in the remainder of the book.