Air Connection

What Air Connection does

Air Connection Pvt Ltd is a privately held Indian freight forwarding and logistics company founded in 1987 and headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, with a branch office in Hyderabad, Telangana. The company was established by three co-founders — Mr. K K Radha, Mr. N Sivasubramaniam, and Mr. S Khannan — each bringing 15 years of prior experience in logistics operations, marketing, and customs. It serves importers and exporters requiring international shipping across trade lanes spanning Asia, USA, Middle East, Europe, and Africa, with a horizontal segment approach covering SMB through mid-market trading companies.

The company's core service portfolio spans three transport modes — Ocean Freight, Air Freight, and Road Transport — supplemented by Custom House Agent services (enabled by its CHA License R.639/CHA Chennai), FCL and LCL Consolidation, Dangerous Goods Handling, Value Added Goods Transportation, Door to Door Logistics, and Inland Transportation. Operations are supported by IATA accreditation (Number: 14-3 3638), ISO 9001:2008 quality management certification, and memberships in FFI, ACAAI, and CCHAA. Technology is limited to industry-standard cargo tracking and customs clearance processing systems; no proprietary technology, AI/ML capabilities, mobile app, or API surface is disclosed.

The business model is sales-led B2B freight forwarding, with revenue generated through transaction fees on each shipment (ocean freight container charges, air freight rates, road transport, and customs clearance fees). Pricing is quote-based and customized per shipment, with no publicly disclosed pricing. The company distributes services through direct corporate sales (enterprise targeting) and branch office sales (mid-market regional targeting), and markets primarily through its company website and industry credential display as trust signals. The company is founder-owned with no institutional investment, no parent company, and no disclosed funding rounds.

Name

Air Connection

Legal name

Air Connection Pvt Ltd

Website

https://airconnection.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Air Connection Pvt Ltd is a Chennai-headquartered, privately held Indian freight forwarding and logistics company founded in 1987 that serves importers and exporters with ocean, air, and road transport plus customs clearance across Asia, USA, Middle East, Europe, and Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Freight Forwarding & Logistics

NAICS

Freight Transportation Arrangement (488510), Freight Transportation Arrangement (48851), Support Activities for Air Transportation (4881), Other Support Activities for Air Transportation (488190)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731), Deep Sea Foreign Transportation Of Freight (4412), Trucking & Courier Services (No Air) (4210), Air Transportation, Nonscheduled (4522), Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Customs Brokerage for Ocean Shipments (Import/Export Clearance) (TLACABAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Ocean Import Forwarding (Destination Handling/DO/ISF) (TLACABAE), Air Freight Brokerage (TLADAMAE)

Keywords

• International freight forwarding
• Ocean freight services
• Air freight forwarding
• Customs clearance services
• Road transport logistics

Headquarters

HQ city

Chennai

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Ocean Freight Forwarding: Sea freight services for exports and imports connecting Asia, USA, Middle East, Europe and Africa. Revenue generated through shipping container fees and freight charges.
2. Air Freight Services: Airport-to-airport international air freight services for exports and imports with focus on reliability and efficiency.
3. Road Transportation: Cost-effective road transport solutions using medium and large transportation systems and trucks for timely dispatch of goods.
4. Custom House Agent Services: Custom clearance services including documentation, customs bonding, and regulatory compliance for imports and exports.
5. FCL and LCL Consolidation: Full Container Load (FCL) and Less than Container Load (LCL) consolidation services for efficient shipping.
6. Door to Door Logistics: Complete door-to-door logistics solutions covering transportation, customs clearance and delivery.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Air Connection Pvt Ltd is an international freight forwarding and logistics company providing ocean freight (exports and imports to Asia, USA, Middle East, Europe and Africa), airport-to-airport air freight, road transport with medium and large trucks, customs clearance (Custom House Agent services under license R.639/CHA Chennai), FCL and LCL consolidation, dangerous goods handling, value-added goods transportation, door-to-door and inland transportation. Services are delivered to importers, exporters, and trading companies requiring multi-modal international shipping solutions with documentation and regulatory compliance handled in-house.

Product overview

Air Connection is a logistics and freight forwarding company offering an integrated suite of international shipping services. The portfolio centers on three core transport modes: Ocean Freight (exports and imports to Asia, USA, Middle East, Europe, and Africa), Air Freight (airport-to-airport international delivery), and Road Transport (domestic and cross-border trucking). These core services are supported by ancillary offerings including Custom House/Custom Clearance (enabled by CHA license), FCL & LCL Consolidation, Dangerous Goods Handling, Value Added Goods Transportation, Door to Door Logistics, and Inland Transportation. The company also provides informational resources including container specifications, Incoterms reference, and world map tools. Together, these services form a comprehensive logistics offering covering the full supply chain from origin to destination.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ocean Freight Services International ocean freight forwarding for exports and imports, covering major trade routes to Asia, USA, Middle East, Europe and Africa through partnerships with global carriers. Designed for businesses engaged in international trade that need cost-effective sea transport of containers.
• Air Freight Services International airport-to-airport air cargo services with complete flexibility to meet customer needs, focusing on reliability and efficiency. Targeted at importers and exporters requiring fast international transit under IATA-accredited handling.
• Road Transport Services Cost-effective transportation solutions using medium and large trucks, focused on safe and timely dispatch of goods for all types of cargo, including domestic and cross-border road transport for importers and exporters.
• Custom House / Custom Clearance Customs clearance services facilitated by the company's CHA license, handling documentation and regulatory compliance for international shipments. Targeted at importers and exporters navigating customs procedures.
• FCL and LCL Consolidation Full Container Load (FCL) and Less than Container Load (LCL) consolidation services for efficient shipping of varying cargo volumes. Designed for businesses needing flexible container arrangements on ocean freight lanes.
• Dangerous Goods Handling Specialized handling and transportation of dangerous goods in compliance with international safety regulations. Targeted at shippers of hazardous cargo requiring compliant multi-modal transport.
• Value-Added Goods Transportation Transportation services for value-added goods with specialized care and handling throughout the logistics chain. Targeted at shippers of high-value or sensitive cargo requiring extra-care transit.
• Door to Door Logistics Complete end-to-end logistics solutions covering pickup, transport, customs clearance and final delivery to destination. Targeted at importers and exporters seeking single-provider accountability from origin to destination.
• Inland Transportation Domestic transportation services connecting ports, airports and inland destinations within India. Targeted at businesses requiring first-mile and last-mile ground transport as part of international shipments.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• World Carriers NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnerships with many of the world's carriers enabling shipping services to and from Asia, USA, Middle East, Europe and Africa. This network of carrier relationships provides routing flexibility and competitive pricing for customers.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• DHL Global Forwarding: Global freight forwarding arm of Deutsche Post DHL offering air, ocean, road freight and customs. Overlaps with Air Connection's full-service international forwarding offering but operates at far larger scale with broader portfolio.
• Maersk Logistics & Services: Logistics arm of Maersk offering end-to-end ocean, air, road, and customs services. Comparable international ocean freight forwarding capability but as part of broader integrated container shipping and logistics portfolio.

Direct peers

• Kuehne + Nagel: One of the world's largest freight forwarders with strong India presence across ocean, air, road, and customs services. Directly comparable service portfolio (multi-modal forwarding + customs brokerage) at significantly larger scale.
• CEVA Logistics: Global logistics company offering freight forwarding, contract logistics, and customs services across air, ocean, and road. Comparable international forwarding service mix with customs clearance capabilities.
• Allcargo Logistics: India's largest publicly listed integrated logistics provider offering ocean, air, and road freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and supply chain solutions. Closest Indian mid-market comparable given multi-modal services and customs clearance.
• Expeditors International: Global freight forwarder specializing in air and ocean freight with customs brokerage. Comparable on core services (airport-to-airport air freight, ocean forwarding, customs clearance) though at much larger global scale.
• DB Schenker: German global logistics provider offering air freight, ocean freight, road transport, and customs services. Directly comparable multi-modal forwarding model with India operations and customs brokerage capability.

Regional players

• Safexpress: India-focused logistics company with strong express distribution and freight forwarding capabilities. Regionally comparable on Indian road transport and supply chain services but primarily domestic-focused.
• Gati-Kintetsu Express: Indian logistics and express distribution company with multi-modal capabilities. Comparable on Indian freight and customs services though primarily domestic-focused with broader express distribution model.

Emerging players

• Flexport: Tech-enabled digital freight forwarder offering ocean and air freight with customs brokerage via a software platform. Represents the digitally-native forwarder model that traditional operators like Air Connection must compete against.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Air Connection