Air freight salaries must be competitive in order to keep the employees you value and recruit new staff. But what is the average cargo salary? Obviously, cargo freight job salaries will be less for those just starting out than the pay given to long-term staff, but it’s also important to determine average air freight salaries for similar positions at other airlines and air courier companies.

Many factors come into play when determining the average air cargo salary. Use the following tools to establish up-to-date air cargo salary guidelines:

1. Use air freight and cargo salary tools to help you hire new employees at a fair rate.

2. Use an air freight salary calculator and compensation tools during staff reviews and promotions.

3. Use national job boards to help you compare compensation and benefits for air freight and cargo jobs.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Determine fair air cargo pay before hiring new employees

Cargo freight job salaries run the gamut due to several factors, including job type, experience level, company size and location. Deciphering what a specific position is worth can be dizzying. Fortunately, there are a variety of air freight and cargo salary tools available that are easy to use and typically provide current information on air cargo compensation.

I recommend: Avjobs.com breaks down cargo salary by minimum, average and maximum pay based on job title. Jobs-Salary.com lets you search for average air cargo pay and freight salary by several variables, including job title, company name and location.

Stay current on air cargo pay to keep employees happy

Offering a competitive freight salary to a new employee is essential, but it's also important to regularly provide fair salary increases to existing staff members. At the very least, all employees should get a cost-of-living increase at review time.

I recommend: Search for the average freight salary in your area at CBsalary.com. Compare air cargo pay between two cities with the cost-of-living calculator at Bankrate.com.

Keep employee benefits in mind when establishing an air freight salary guide

Air cargo pay is not the only thing that will attract and keep employees. Benefits such as medical and dental insurance, vacation pay, life insurance, flexible hours, casual dress, stock options and more are factors for many workers. Search your local newspaper's classified section or on national job boards for real salaries and benefits for real positions. Create a log of the salaries and benefits you see over several weeks to come up with a good range to use as a basis of comparison.

I recommend: Find air freight salary and benefits information by searching for jobs on industry-specific job boards like CargoJobs and on industry-wide boards such as Juju.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Professional associations, such as The International Air Cargo Association and the Airforwarders Association, provide great forums for discussing air cargo salary and benefits expectations.