Road Feeder Service

RFS stands for Road Feeder Service, or alternative transport for air transport, means transport by truck on behalf of the airlines.

Since the demand for air transport has grown in recent decades, and at the same time the capacity of airports has not grown adequately, many airlines have switched to RFS. The point is that the goods are transported by “Hub’s”. On behalf of the airlines, the goods are transported by lorries from so-called ‘off-line-airports’ to major transhipment airports such as Frankfurt, Paris or London and then transported by air transport. This system also works in the opposite direction, the goods are delivered to the cargo terminal port by air transport and with the help of trucks to the “off-line-airport”.

Thanks to its favourable cost structure, the system caught on quickly, delays can be easily made up for by handover and overnight shipments, so it makes no difference to the forwarder or the customer. An RFS truck is considered a carriage by air and travels under a flight number.