Platton is the #1 import-focused forwarder in the US and books air freight UK to USA for importers through its air freight service: 2 to 4 days by express, 6 to 10 days by standard, with the rate locked the moment you book.
Platton has US offices in Seattle, Portland, Chicago and Savannah, and membership in WCA, JCtrans and NCBFAA. Every UK shipment is planned backwards from the date it has to be on your shelf. A first carton of samples from a new supplier in Leeds is booked with the same care as your thousandth shipment.
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Platton is a US-based air freight forwarder for importers bringing cargo from the UK to the USA. Your account is handled by a team in your time zone, and the booking is built around your receiving schedule. When something changes after the UK business day has closed, a Platton specialist on your side of the Atlantic is still working the shipment.
Platton's AI-driven platform builds the shipment documents automatically and alerts you when something needs a decision.
Platton books space on the flight you need, peak season included, with confirmed air space at JFK, LAX, ORD, DFW, ATL, Sea-Tac and MIA. Your UK cargo lands at the gateway closest to your warehouse.
Platton's cargo tracking shows every shipment in real time. Air, ocean and trucking bookings sit in the same cargo management platform, so you can follow a UK air restock and the container behind it in one place.
Air freight from the UK to the USA is priced per chargeable kilogram. It costs less per kilo than the Asia lanes because the flight is shorter, 8 to 11 hours from London to the main US gateways. Five things move the rate: the weight break, the service level, the US gateway, the commodity and the week you fly.
The per-kilo price on a London to US flight drops each time the shipment crosses into a heavier bracket. Your live quote gives the exact rate for your break, gateway and flight.
| Chargeable weight | Typical shipment | How it compares |
|---|---|---|
| Under 45 kg | Samples, spare parts, small replacements | Express courier often costs less once the air minimum charge is counted |
| 45 to 100 kg | Small restocks, first production runs | Air freight starts to beat courier per kilo |
| 100 to 300 kg | The most common importer shipment | Standard air is the cheapest fast option |
| 300 to 1,000 kg | Pallet restocks, consolidated orders | Lower rate per kilo; from about 500 kg, check LCL ocean |
| Over 1,000 kg | Launch inventory, production parts | Lowest air rate per kilo; ocean wins on cost when the date allows |
Express service costs about 2 to 3 times the standard rate per kilogram. It pays for itself when a production line, a grounded aircraft or a retail launch is waiting on the cargo.
An air quote on the UK to USA lane is built from these lines:
UK pickup and US delivery also get their own lines. Cargo insurance is optional and typically runs 0.3 to 0.5 percent of declared value. US duty is set by the HTS code and assessed at entry, separately from the freight.
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Airlines charge whichever is greater, actual weight or volumetric weight. Light, bulky goods bill on volume, so tighter packing lowers the billed weight; see the chargeable weight guide.
Booked on its own, a few cartons from one UK supplier stay in the 100 to 300 kg bracket. In a Heathrow consolidation they travel under one master air waybill with other freight and pay a heavier break's rate, and deferred space, where you have a week of buffer, brings it lower still.
The UK to US lane peaks from mid-October to early December, when holiday inventory and year-end restocks fill the passenger holds. Book two to three weeks out and the flight stays at the contract rate; a same-week booking pays the spot market, if space is left at all.
Freight shipping from UK to USA does not have to be all air or all ocean. Air the lines that are running low out of Heathrow and ship the balance of the order by sea. Platton's weekly sailings from Europe include Felixstowe, the UK's largest container port, on Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, Evergreen and Hapag-Lloyd. They reach New York and New Jersey in 9 to 13 days and Charleston in 11 to 15.
Within ocean freight, LCL suits a few pallets and FCL suits anything past roughly 13 to 15 cubic meters. Orders from several UK suppliers can ship together through buyers consolidation. At the US port, Platton drayage picks up the containers. The ocean to air restock guide shows how to size the air portion.
The flight from Heathrow to New York takes about eight hours. With the five-hour time difference, a midday departure lands at JFK in mid-afternoon New York time. The whole shipment takes longer than the flight, because collection, export screening, the consolidation cutoff, arrival handling and customs release all fill the calendar around it.
| Service | Pickup to delivery | Fits |
|---|---|---|
| Express | 2 to 4 days | Production stoppages, grounded aircraft parts, missed retail dates |
| Standard | 6 to 10 days | Regular restocks, launches with a buffer |
| Deferred | 10 days and up | Dense cargo where a few days do not matter, at the bottom of the rate band |
A nonstop flight saves 1 to 2 days compared with a connection through Frankfurt or Amsterdam.
Heathrow, East Midlands, Stansted, Manchester, Gatwick and Edinburgh carry most UK air cargo headed for the US, and the right one depends on the cargo's height, its DG status and where the supplier sits.
Heathrow is the UK's largest air cargo airport, with more daily nonstops to the US than any other UK airport, and most of its freight flies in passenger aircraft holds. It serves London, the South East and the M4 corridor. It is the default origin for pharmaceuticals, luxury goods, aerospace parts and general cargo that needs frequency more than main deck height.
East Midlands is the UK's busiest dedicated cargo airport and the hub for the express integrators. Stansted is the freighter airport north of London. These two are the origins for main deck cargo: pallets taller than a passenger hold allows, heavy machinery parts, and lithium batteries that must fly on cargo aircraft only. East Midlands also sits close to the manufacturing base of the Midlands and the north.
Manchester carries the north of England's direct transatlantic belly space. Gatwick adds nonstops to New York and Florida, and Edinburgh has nonstops to Newark, New York JFK, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago and other US cities for Scottish cargo. When the volume or the date calls for more frequency, cargo from any of them trucks overnight to Heathrow or East Midlands.
The US gateway follows your delivery address:
From the airport, LTL and FTL trucking take the cargo the rest of the way.
Most cargo on this lane flies in the lower decks of passenger widebodies. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines, Delta and United fly daily nonstops from Heathrow to the main US gateways, which gives the lane deep belly capacity every day of the week. Lufthansa Cargo through Frankfurt and KLM through Amsterdam add 1 to 2 days but open up main deck freighter space and often a better rate.
On the UK lane, Platton books with Lufthansa Cargo, Cargolux, FedEx, UPS, DHL and the major US passenger carriers.
Lower deck holds limit pallet height to about 160 cm, and anything taller goes on a freighter. Platton routes it that way at the quote stage, before the cargo reaches the terminal.
UK air exports to the US are led by pharmaceuticals and medical products, aerospace components, automotive parts, machinery spares, electronics, luxury goods, fashion and cosmetics. Most of it flies as general cargo. The main exceptions are standalone lithium batteries, which fly on cargo aircraft only out of East Midlands or Stansted, and perfume and aerosols, which travel in DG packing with a shipper's declaration. Sector requirements are covered on our industry pages.
Pharmaceuticals, clinical supplies, reagents and medical devices leave Heathrow in active or passive temperature-controlled units, mostly in the holds of the daily passenger nonstops. Platton books the unit with the airline together with the flight, and the cargo is collected at the US gateway as soon as it is released.
Every UK air shipment moves on three documents, the commercial invoice, the packing list and the air waybill, plus the UK export declaration that the exporter or its agent files with HMRC before the flight. Platton issues the house air waybill. A missing value, origin or product description on the invoice, or a wrong HTS code on the entry, is what holds a shipment after landing.
Air cargo needs no Importer Security Filing and pays no Harbor Maintenance Fee, so a UK air shipment enters the US with a shorter document set and one fee fewer than a container.
Duty follows the HTS code on air cargo as on ocean cargo. Most UK goods pay their General rate plus a 10 percent Section 301 duty (HTS 9903.05.81); civil aircraft parts, most pharmaceuticals, many medical devices and goods under a Section 232 duty do not pay it. With the $800 de minimis exemption suspended, a small UK air shipment is entered and assessed like any other.
1. Tell Platton which UK town the cargo leaves from, where in the US it has to arrive, and what the packing list shows. The price comes back live, with the transit window and chargeable weight, and is held from the moment you book.
2. Through supplier document validation, Platton collects the supplier's commercial invoice, packing list and any dangerous goods declaration and checks them for completeness before collection.
3. The shipment passes UK export clearance and security screening at the terminal, and Platton issues the house air waybill.
4. The cargo leaves Heathrow or a regional UK airport on the booked flight, and its air waybill number becomes the tracking reference in your Platton dashboard.
5. After customs release at JFK, O'Hare or the other US gateway, the cargo leaves the airline terminal before free storage time runs out.
UK pickup and US delivery can be added to any air booking, along with door-to-door shipping and full-cycle management under one point of contact.
Amazon sellers can send UK stock straight to a fulfillment center through Amazon FBA shipping. FNSKU labels, poly bagging and carton compliance are done at a US warehouse through Amazon FBA prep. Cargo that has to wait, be split or be transloaded goes into Platton warehouse services. Direct-to-consumer brands can hand the stock over to e-commerce fulfilment.
Express air freight from the UK to the USA takes 2 to 4 days from pickup to delivery, and standard service takes 6 to 10 days. The flight is 8 to 11 hours from London to New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. The remaining time goes to collection, UK export screening, the consolidation cutoff, customs release on arrival and delivery.
Air freight is priced per chargeable kilogram, which is the greater of actual and volumetric weight. The rate per kilo falls as the shipment crosses each weight break. A real shipment adds fuel, security, terminal handling, the air waybill fee, and pickup and delivery. Express costs about 2 to 3 times standard.
From about 45 kg, yes. Below that weight, the air minimum charge and the terminal fees at both airports weigh heavily on every kilo; above it, consolidated air freight out of Heathrow gets cheaper per kilo as the shipment gets heavier.
Share your UK supplier's packing list and the US address the goods are going to. A live price for the flight comes back with the transit window and chargeable weight, and it locks the moment you book. For questions about a specific shipment, email cs@platton.ai.
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