Who knows air freight / international shipping?

[Floid]

This is a strange question, but I know we've got a knowledgeable and international contingent here...

As part of my day job, I'm assisting some folks from the caribbean who've flown up here to collect a relative's belongings.  Probably 3 to 5 moving boxes' worth, and our assumption is that UPS or FedEx will charge stratospherically.  DHL offers some sort of flat-rate "Jumbo Box" but I'm not sure what ballpark that's in.

So... I'm vaguely familiar with the existence of alternate air freight / air cargo services, but don't know specifics.  Back when I was considering this for my own move, I found Southwest, but they're of course US-only.

Anyone ever done this and have a carrier to recommend?  What are the chances of the DHL option being reasonable?

[HenryCase]

Floid, you need to tell us where in the world you live, as well as the weight and volume of the parcels you wish to send, to have any chance of a decent answer to your question.

[persia]

Had to ship something overseas once (to the US), there were several companies in Brisbane that would essentially split a container or part of a container.  Took a few months to get there, but was cheap compared to the alternatives.  

Some of the foreign ports also open your boxes, yanks especially, but they put red tape on the boxes so you can tell they've been in them.

[wurzel]

You also have to seriously think about Customs clearance. You also need to make sure what you are sending is permissable. An obvious example, don't ship alcohol to UAE. A less obvious example, you need permission to ship a motorbike into Australia - don't even think about shipping it until you have permission!

Postage is fine if it doesn't weigh too much, but anything substantial and it is better to use a removal company. Container shipping is an alternative, but you then have to arrange pick up, delivery & Customs yourself.

I carried out local, national & International removals for 15 years - I know a little about it

[persia]

Australia has become less picky with motor vehicles, it used to be a royal pain to get vehicles from out of the country, but since the tarriffs have pretty much been dropped it's a whole lot easier.  Lot's of folks shop for used vehicles in Japan, they have the steering wheel on the right side and (usually) take very good care of their vehicles.