As margins shrink and complexity rises, a quiet but powerful transformation is underway. At the centre of it: data, AI, and a rethinking of how rates are built, booked, and benchmarked.

Air cargo has long trailed behind the passenger side of the airline industry when it comes to dynamic pricing. That gap, however, is starting to close.

“True dynamic pricing is still in its early days for freight,” Wayne Tyndall, senior vice president commercial at WebCargo by Freightos, noted, “but more and more carriers have targeted, focused teams dedicated to making cargo pricing just as dynamic as passenger pricing has been for years.

“The challenge for a carrier is how to make that dynamic pricing reflective of the relationship with the forwarder, and the underlying shippers who have the freight to move.”

On the forwarder side, quoting is evolving too. “This is also presenting a challenge in how you quote customers or even share rates with agents abroad for longer-term planning,” said Tyndall. Some forwarders are even building their own tools.

“We’ve seen forwarder customers working together with software providers—like WebCargo or others—to create dynamic pricing models that can be shared with their customers, in quotes or even through online sales channels.”

AI that pays for itself

Artificial intelligence in airfreight is no longer theoretical. With the right data and use cases, it’s already delivering value—particularly in pricing.

“AI is definitely not a gimmick,” said Tyndall. “And not just because of what’s possible—but because of what’s already happening.”

He points to SkyRate, WebCargo’s AI-powered pricing optimisation tool, as an example. “Airlines use it to model lane-level ‘what-if’ scenarios, benchmark rates against true market conditions, and adapt dynamically—without guesswork.”

In one pilot, the system delivered a measurable return. “A pilot carrier saved $70,000 in just seven days,” he said. “That’s what happens when you combine clean market data with trained models that predict forwarder behaviour with over 90 percent accuracy.”

Forwarders, too, are using AI foundations to streamline quoting, cut delays, and improve profit per booking. “AI paired with the right team is a powerful combination that helps serve customers better,” Tyndall said.

Digital interlining

WebCargo’s push into digital interlining aims to reduce friction between carriers—making it easier for forwarders to book multi-leg shipments seamlessly.

“Any new piece of technology in this industry takes some time for adoption,” said Tyndall. “And the most exciting part is that as you start to chip away at a solution, you realise all the things that you didn’t know that you didn’t know.”

Digital interlining, he added, is a particularly complex use case. “This is not an easy puzzle to put together. No two carrier relationships are the same.”

Still, adoption is growing. “We continue releasing new features and updates to our interline booking programme to ensure we’re covering carrier requirements. The adoption continues to tick upwards—and we expect 2025 to be a very exciting year in this space.”

Rate integrity

In a digital pricing environment, rate integrity becomes essential for both trust and performance.

“Transparency and accuracy aren’t just nice-to-haves in airfreight; they’re the foundation of trust,” said Tyndall.

According to him, the vast majority of WebCargo’s rates come directly from carriers or their GSAs. “Either through rate sheets we ingest, or from the 60+ carriers that provide live capacity and instantly bookable rates.”

Manual uploads are supported, but quality is enforced. “Our rate management tech helps carriers and forwarders keep things clean, current, and aligned with what’s actually being offered in the market.”

WebCargo also takes data protection seriously. “We’re ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certified, and we’ve built our reputation by putting customer data privacy first. Rate data stays strictly siloed—we don’t share it, sell it, or blur lines.”

Digital quoting no longer means spot-only. More airlines are extending online access to contract rates, commodities, and ULD-level bookings.

“Most digitally enabled carriers nowadays offer both spot and contract offers for bookings.”