Luftfracht von Korea nach Europa: Das zu berechnende Gewicht bestimmt die Rechnung

21 August 2026 · The Glow Trade

The first air quote most retailers get out of Korea has a number on it that looks like a typo. The packing list says 60 kilos. The quote charges for 180. Nobody made a mistake. The forwarder measured the pallet.

Air cargo is sold by the kilo, but the kilo on the invoice is rarely the one on the scale. Boxed cosmetics are among the lightest things that fly per cubic metre, and every airline tariff is written to charge for the space. This piece is the freight line alone; the rest of the landed cost is in the full import cost breakdown.

The short version

Korean Air's cargo tariff converts 6,000 cubic centimetres to 1 kilo and charges the higher of actual and volume weight, so one cubic metre of boxed cosmetics is billed as 167 kilos whatever it weighs (tariff read 2 September 2026).
WorldACD measured average Asia Pacific to Europe air spot at US$5.26 per kilo in week 26 of 2026 (22 to 28 June) and US$4.42 in week 34 (17 to 23 August), with Korean origin up 25 percent year on year against 15 percent for the region.
Korean Air's fuel surcharge from Korea to Europe is KRW 1,320 per kilo on top of the rate, and since 1 April 2026 the carrier has reset its Europe surcharge monthly instead of quarterly.

The forwarder weighs your pallet with a tape measure

Korean Air prints the rule in its tariff: "6000 cu cm = 1.0 kg", and chargeable weight "is either Actual Weight or Volume Weight, whichever is higher." Length times width times height in centimetres, divided by 6,000, is the number the rate is multiplied by, unless the goods weigh more than that.

In the unit you buy in: a Euro pallet is 120 by 80 centimetres. Stacked to 120 centimetres it holds 1.15 cubic metres and bills as 192 kilos before a single product is on it. To be charged on the scale instead, the load has to be denser than 167 kilos per cubic metre. Boxed serums, cushions, sheet mask boxes and plastic tubes in folding cartons with void fill are nowhere near that; only glass-heavy toners and litre cleansers get close. You pay for the box.

What the lane costs this month, and why next month is different

WorldACD put the Asia Pacific to Europe average spot rate at US$5.26 per kilo in week 26 of 2026 and US$4.42 in week 34, a 16 percent fall in eight weeks. Korea ran hotter all summer: in week 34 South Korean origin spot was up 25 percent on the year against 15 percent for the region, because cargo out of Incheon competes for the same aircraft bellies as semiconductors and electronics.

Fuel is the other moving part. IATA has jet fuel at US$129.5 per barrel in June 2026, up 45.8 percent on the year. Korean Air's published fuel surcharge from Korea to Europe is KRW 1,320 per kilo, tied to the Singapore spot price and applied from the 16th of each month for one month. On 17 March 2026 the carrier announced that from 1 April it would set its Europe surcharge monthly instead of quarterly. When a carrier shortens its own repricing cycle, a quote from last quarter has expired.

Ask on every quote which week's rate it is, how long it holds, and whether the fuel surcharge is applied to chargeable weight; if it is, the volume rule inflates that line too.

Why 40 kilos costs two to three times what 400 kilos costs, per kilo

Rate and fuel scale with weight. Most of the rest of the invoice ignores it.

Korean Air's tariff: "If the weight charge is lower than the minimum charge set for an individual sector, the minimum charge shall apply." Dangerous goods handling out of Korea is KRW 20,000 per piece with a minimum of KRW 130,000 per shipment, and aerosols, high alcohol toners, nail products and some fragrances are dangerous goods. Then the destination side: airport handling, terminal charges and the broker's fee per declaration. No carrier or index publishes those, so ask for them itemised; they are on every quote and they are per shipment.

Run the arithmetic with your own quote. Suppose the fixed items at both ends add up to US$300. Over 40 chargeable kilos that is US$7.50 a kilo; over 400 it is US$0.75. Put the same rate and fuel under both, call it five dollars a kilo at summer 2026 levels, and the small shipment costs more than twice as much per kilo as the large one. Add a dangerous goods minimum and it is closer to three times.

Our rule: below about 100 chargeable kilos, get an express door to door quote next to the forwarder's. Above a pallet the forwarder usually wins. Compare totals to your door, never per kilo rates, and consolidate: two 40 kilo orders a month cost more to fly than one 80 kilo order. The same tail is why buying direct from Korea only pays above a certain order size, which the direct versus wholesaler arithmetic puts in one table.

Packing to cut chargeable weight

Carton size is the one line on the freight bill that belongs to you, so treat packing as a price negotiation.

Get carton dimensions before you accept a freight quote: length, width, height and gross weight per carton type, on the packing list.
No double boxing. A master carton inside another shipper is a second layer of air, charged at the kilo rate.
Right size the shipper and cut void fill. It protects glass; it should not fill the top third of a carton of sheet masks.
Under a full pallet, ask whether the forwarder will take loose cartons. A pallet adds its own weight and footprint, and a half stacked pallet is measured to the top of the load across the full base.
Keep dangerous goods out of mixed cartons. One aerosol makes the whole piece a dangerous goods piece.
Reorder dense lines by sea. For litre cleansers and glass toners the volume rule stops biting; run the sea versus air comparison before the next replenishment.

The check to run on every pro forma

Copy this into your order notes and fill it in from the packing list, not the catalogue.

Chargeable weight check

Cartons: count, and length by width by height in centimetres, per carton type.

Volume weight in kilos = total cubic centimetres divided by 6,000.

Actual weight = total gross kilos from the packing list.

Chargeable weight = the higher of line 2 and line 3. Multiply by this week's rate, add the fuel surcharge per kilo, add every per shipment item on the quote.

Density = actual kilos divided by cubic metres. Below 167, carton size is setting your freight bill, and the instruction below goes out with the order.

Packing instruction to send with the order

Please pack this order for air freight. Use the smallest export carton the products fit into, with no double boxing and no void fill beyond what glass items need. Put the carton count, the outer dimensions in centimetres and the gross weight of each carton type on the packing list and send it to me before the forwarder collects, so I can check the chargeable weight. Keep any aerosols or high alcohol products in separate, marked cartons and tell me before shipping if the order contains dangerous goods.

Questions buyers ask

Is an express courier cheaper than air freight for a small order from Korea?

For a few cartons, often yes, because the integrator's door price already contains pickup, the airport legs, handling and customs clearance. Read the volumetric rule in the courier's own terms first; express services use their own formula. Get both quotes to your door for the same packing list and compare totals.

Can I ship aerosols and alcohol toners by air from Korea?

Yes, as dangerous goods. Korean Air charges KRW 20,000 per piece out of Korea with a KRW 130,000 minimum and no upper limit. On a small order that minimum alone can exceed the base freight, so fly those lines as a separate larger consignment or buy them from stock already inside the EU.

Do I pay import VAT on the freight too?

Duty is zero on most skincare and colour cosmetics from Korea whatever the freight costs. Import VAT is calculated on the customs value, which includes transport and insurance to the EU border, and the VAT base then adds onward transport to the first destination inside the country of import. An expensive air shipment raises the VAT you finance at import, even though it comes back through your return.