Re: Cross-country shipping of large network/computer gear?

["Robert E. Seastrom" <rs () seastrom com>]

Excellent points; didn't cross my mind since I've had (personal)
accounts with Delta and United for ages now.  Probably a call to
ForwardAir, Cavalier, or EGL would get you their rules of engagement
too.

You might want to try http://www.khcargo.com/ for non-passenger air cargo.


                                        ---Rob

Andy Ellifson <andy () ellifson com> writes:

> A counter-to-counter shipment on a passenger airline is a thing of the
> past (at least from my experiences going directly to the passenger
> airlines).  After Sept 11 the FAA has required that passenger airlines
> only accept shipments from "known shippers" (unless this has changed in
> the last 14 months).  What does this mean?  You need to setup an
> account with the airline (may of them will setup the account and still
> be able to bill to a credit card).  You also need to become a "known
> shipper" by having their courier/employee visit your location and
> verify that you are a "known shipper".  Once this occurs you can do
> passenger airline counter-to-counter shipments at will.  Setup time
> takes 7-10 days from what I remember.
>
> If anybody has counter-to-counter on their disaster recovery plans you
> may want to get setup as a "known shipper".  I went through the process
> with United's Cargo division http://www.unitedcargo.com.  I used them
> as a backup to America West Airlines as I am located in Phoenix, AZ.
>
> -Andy
>
>
> --- "Robert E. Seastrom" <rs () seastrom com> wrote:
> > "N. Richard Solis" <nrsolis () aol net> writes:
> >
> > > FedEx will be your best bet.  Trust me.
> >
> > FedEx Heavy = "pay a surcharge for heavy boxes, get it moved by a 120
> > pound delivery person with a handtruck rather than a pallet jack or
> > other appropriate freight handling equipment... and dropped off the
> > truck".  My experience is a 40% damage rate when shipping Cisco 7507
> > and 7513 routers via FedEx Heavy.  Here are some pictures from back
> > when I was at AboveNet: http://www.seastrom.com/fedex/
> >
> > > You COULD do a counter to counter shipment via an airline cargo
> > desk. 
> > > That MIGHT be cheaper but you will still have to transport it from
> > your 
> > > spot to their pickup and back again on the other side.
> >
> > Counter-to-counter is the *last* way you would want to ship that sort
> > of thing (handled as luggage on a flight, beat to hell by baggage
> > handlers, and you get to retrieve it from baggage claim in an airport
> > and schlep it all the way to your car).  Far better (if you have
> > access to trucks on both ends) is to ship it air freight.  As you
> > enter your favorite airport, follow the signs to Air Cargo, not the
> > signs to the passenger terminal.  When you find a place with a lot of
> > places for 18-wheelers to back up to loading docks, and relatively
> > few
> > places for cars to park, you've found the right place.  Matthew
> > doesn't mention specific terminus points for the shipment, but based
> > on whois information I'll make a wild guess that NYC is one end.  JFK
> > appears to be the "big" United installation (vs LGA and EWR), per
> > info
> > on www.unitedcargo.com - I tend to prefer them because of their long
> > hours for pickup and delivery at IAD, which makes life convenient for
> > me.  :)
> >
> > If you need door-to-door service, there are numerous air freight
> > forwarders who can handle palletized equipment and move it around the
> > country/world in a timely fashion (and really, if you're talking
> > about
> > 300+ pounds of rackmount equipment, that's how you want to move it
> > anyway).
> >
> > Two companies that I've used and been quite happy with the results
> > are
> > Cavalier International and Eagle Global Logistics.  You may recognize
> > Eagle's logo from stickers on previous shipments that you've gotten
> > from major manufacturers who have stuff manufactured in the Far East.
> > The Pros Know.
> >
> > http://www.eaglegl.com/
> > http://www.cavalier-intl.com/
> >
> >                                         ---Rob