Air cargo operators say the cost of jet fuel has gone up two and one-half times over the last 18 months, which has prompted the implementation of fuel surcharges and other 'temporary' fees. At the same time, the carriers are shifting aircraft to other routes and the result is less capacity for shippers.

Some shippers have been able to shift cargo to ocean transportation. Salmon shipments are one example of cargo that's being shipped frozen by ocean vessel rather than air. Yet perishable shipments, such as flowers from Latin America to the U.S., don't have much of an alternative.