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SAS Cargo to offer dynamic booking with Freightos platform

Airline pacesetters are using APIs to supplant manual web reservations, get direct connectivity

(Photo Credit: Flickr / Kevin Hackert)

Tech companies Freightos and cargo.one are leading the push for fully digital air cargo marketplaces where freight forwarders can quickly compare live rates and capacity, and instantly book a shipment.

So far, only a handful of airlines have made the technology investments required to connect with the third-party platforms, but on Tuesday, Freightos said the cargo arm of Scandinavian Airlines will sell freight space through its WebCargo subsidiary.

More than 1,600 logistics companies and other users are on WebCargo, and they collectively are responsible for more than 30% of global air cargo by tonnage, according to Freightos’ Nov. 26 announcement.


Application programming interfaces, which essentially enable back-office systems to talk to each other, are the key piece to the real-time transactions. As reported here last week, automating the booking process is not yet commonplace among air cargo carriers but is seen by key early adopters as a service differentiator because it can take the friction out of freight transactions.

The advantage of automatically connecting the forwarders’ transportation management system with airline reservation systems is more predictable, transparent pricing and capacity information that can be confirmed instantly, as passengers are used to when booking tickets. But in the air cargo industry, most online booking is still manual because the carrier must manually confirm the price and booking in the system. In many cases, phone calls and emails are also required to finalize a booking.

When combined with shipper turnaround times, the process adds up to two or three days to shipping, according to WebCargo. In addition to making life easier for forwarders, the WebCargo system also lets them view live spot-market rates side by side with their negotiated contract rates.

Many airlines offer static rates through WebCargo, but so far only Lufthansa Cargo, Air France-KLM, IAG Cargo and United Airlines just enable electronic booking. Lufthansa also is directly connected to cargo.one, along with seven other airlines. And Lufthansa additionally offers forwarders the ability to use an API for one-to-one communication with its revenue and capacity management system.


SAS Cargo said WebCargo is another way it can make the customer experience a priority. It already secures 80% of its transportation orders through its own online booking site.

“This expands our visibility worldwide and perfectly builds upon our established digital products and services, like instant booking confirmation, dynamic pricing and a fully automated and digitized document manager, making them available for a broader audience,” Martin Dellepiane Larsen, head of network and revenue management at SAS Cargo, said in a statement.

Freightos, which also offers a multi-modal rate management system, acquired Barcelona-based WebCargo in 2016. Founded by serial entrepreneur Zvi Schreiber, Freightos has raised $94.4 million from leading venture funds, including GE Ventures and the Singapore Exchange.

Eric Kulisch

Eric is the Supply Chain and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He won Environmental Journalist of the Year from the Seahorse Freight Association in 2014 and was the group's 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. In December 2022, Eric was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist by the Seahorse Freight Association. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. He has appeared on Marketplace, ABC News and National Public Radio to talk about logistics issues in the news. Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at ekulisch@freightwaves.com