It’s not lack of demand that’s holding air cargo back – it’s the wait time.
For decades, booking a shipment has meant navigating email chains, spreadsheets, and more back-and-forth than a game of tennis. In fact, 45% of BCOs say it still takes up to two days just to confirm a single spot booking.
But customer expectations have shifted toward the fast, seamless B2C experience they get in every other part of life, which is why the smartest carriers are starting to think – and operate – more like tech companies.
By leveraging agile pricing, real-time booking data, and smarter connectivity, modern air cargo teams are trading manual processes for airline cargo management systems that deliver that B2C quality and speed – at scale. Here’s how airline cargo management software is powering that shift.
What Is Airline Cargo Management?
Airline cargo management is the coordination of cargo bookings, pricing, operations, and revenue strategy for carriers moving freight. As belly cargo has become a strategic asset for airlines, managing it efficiently is crucial – not just for profitability, but for meeting rising customer expectations.
Traditional methods – spreadsheets, phone calls, and siloed teams – often slow things down. For many airlines, a single shipment booking involves retyping freight data dozens of times across disconnected systems – inviting delays, errors, and disputes. Rate updates lag behind market conditions. And when information is scattered, so is insight.
That’s where air cargo management software comes in. By digitizing the full cargo lifecycle – from rate distribution to booking, dynamic pricing, interlining, and tracking – airlines can move faster, more efficiently, and with greater intelligence.
As United Cargo’s Cargo Alliances Manager, Eric Weseman, put it,
Customers have made it clear… they are seeking self-service capabilities, allowing them to book and track freight whenever and wherever. So offering online capabilities becomes the norm.
Key Features of an Airline Cargo Management System
Today’s best airline cargo platforms go beyond automating transactions – they support better decision-making and stronger commercial outcomes.
- Real-Time Pricing and Market Benchmarking
Leading platforms provide lane-specific pricing tools powered by real-time data, including market benchmarks like the Freightos Air Index. Airlines can test scenarios, forecast revenue, and adjust rates dynamically – without waiting for weekly pricing cycles.
One carrier using WebCargo’s SkyRate reported revenue improvements of up to 20% on optimized lanes, driven by scenario modeling and price sensitivity analysis.
- Performance Analytics and Customer Behavior Insights
With tools like WebCargo’s Airline Dashboard, airlines can now monitor booking conversion rates, cancellation windows, and how far in advance customers are searching and booking. These insights allow revenue managers to move from reactive to proactive – adjusting prices, launching promotions, or expanding services based on real demand data.
This is exactly the kind of insight that United Cargo was seeking when they partnered with WebCargo to build a new online portal. As VP Customer Service & Alliances, Peggy Guse explained:
We were drawn to the knowledgeable team who shared our vision… to exponentially enhance our customers’ experience by offering seamless booking and tracking functionality.
- Seamless Interlining Capabilities
Interlining used to mean long email threads, slow confirmations, and missed opportunities. Now, digital interlining changes the game—letting airlines book and sell joint routings with other carriers instantly, all through one platform.
Instead of being limited to their own networks, carriers can now tap into millions of new route combinations, expanding reach without adding flights. For forwarders, that means easier access to complex routings; for airlines, it means better capacity utilization and faster revenue growth.
As Faisal Karamat, V.P for Cargo Customer Experience at Qatar Airways Cargo puts it, interlining is a win-win:
It expands the buying carrier’s network and fills the selling carrier’s capacity—generating revenue that otherwise wouldn’t exist.
With visibility, automation, and real-time connectivity, digital interlining is turning what was once a headache into a high-performance sales strategy.
- Configuration and Middleware Support
Modern systems also offer centralized tools for managing surcharges, embargoes, load restrictions, and integrations with TMS and ERP systems. This reduces the time required to implement changes across teams and improves consistency across channels.
Discover how airlines using the right air cargo management software supercharged sales, maximized ROI, and streamlined their ops.
Why Airline Cargo Services & Solutions Matter
The ROI of digital cargo management is becoming impossible to ignore:
- One major airline saw a 10X revenue increase from WebCargo bookings in just one year
- One major carrier’s number of new forwarder customers continued to grow five quarters after launching on WebCargo even as coverage increased only moderately.
- Airlines using performance analytics are reducing errors, improving margins, and increasing booking velocity.
Digitization also improves the customer experience. Real-time pricing, 24/7 self-service, and fewer booking errors lead to more satisfied customers and stickier relationships.
United Cargo’s digital transformation is a clear example. By integrating the right air cargo management system across their booking workflows, they not only improved internal efficiency but also made it easier for forwarders to interact with their services. Guse elaborates:
The enhanced website experience, as well as the option of booking through a marketplace, has really made a difference for our freight forwarder customers.
How to Choose the Right Air Cargo Management System
Selecting the right software comes down to fit, flexibility, and future-readiness. Here’s what to evaluate:
- Ease of Integration: Does the software work with your existing revenue management system, booking tools, or internal IT stack?
- Scalability: Can it support growth across new geographies, partners, and service types?
- Visibility: Does it provide real-time data, analytics, and performance benchmarks you can act on?
- Configurability: How easily can your teams manage embargoes, surcharges, or route updates?
- Support and Partnership: Is the vendor committed to evolving with your needs and supporting strategic initiatives?
As the case of United Cargo shows, the right partner isn’t just selling software – they’re collaborating on a digital roadmap.
The Future of Airline Cargo Management Systems
The next wave of transformation is already underway:
- AI-driven forecasting will improve pricing precision and demand planning
- API-based interlining will make complex routings more bookable and profitable
- Smart payments and reconciliation will streamline collections from non-IATA and SME forwarders
- Carbon tracking and sustainability tools will become table stakes, not add-ons
Digitization isn’t replacing human expertise – it’s enhancing it. The goal is to automate repetitive tasks so that cargo teams can focus on strategy, service, and speed.
A Smarter Approach to Digital Cargo Management
Platforms like WebCargo are helping airlines digitize smarter – not just faster. With over 67 airline partners, access to 10,000+ forwarder offices, and a suite of tools for everything from interlining to dynamic pricing, it’s becoming a core piece of digital air cargo infrastructure.
But the real differentiator isn’t technology alone. It’s how platforms support transformation at every layer – from system configuration to customer-facing UX, bringing together pricing, distribution, payments, analytics, and integrations into a single ecosystem.
For airlines, this means being able to scale global distribution with minimal overhead. It means improving customer experience not through heroics, but through better systems. And it means being able to test, measure, and adjust – not quarterly, but daily.
WebCargo’s approach doesn’t aim to replace existing commercial teams or strategies. Instead, it gives them better tools – so they can do more, with less friction, and more confidence in their results.
In a market where speed, visibility, and adaptability increasingly define success, having the right platform is no longer optional. It’s foundational.
