Have you ever wondered how the luxury automobiles produced in Europe make it to the U.S. for car shows, new product launches, or openings of dealerships?

The Bentleys, the Rolls-Royces, the Jaguars, the McLarens, and other high-end vehicles are shipped via airfreight. One such firm, Bellville Rodair, claims that as many as seven to 10 percent of those six-figure supercars are sent by air.  While cars shipped via air run the gamut, price-wise, the majority of the cars are the ultra high-end models.

Katie Ould, a key accounts manager for Bellville Rodair, told Air Cargo World magazine that it costs $15,000 to $18,000 to ship a car by air versus $3,000 by boat.

As for whether the airfreighting of cars has taken a hit because of the economy, Ould says this isn’t the case. What have changed are the contributing factors to why a car is airfreighted.