An increasing share of international air cargo and most of the industry’s growth expectations are riding on the movement of low value cross border e-commerce items, mainly out of China. The five major platforms have massively increased cross border volumes over the past 3 years and while the transpacific has copped a beating over the past months, growth to Europe and some other markets has more than made up for that. However, e-commerce companies consistently lose or make very little money on this business. That is a problem that the air cargo industry needs to think about. This article looks at the international operations of Alibaba, Amazon, eBay, Pinduoduo, Shein with a focus on the financial performance, geographical scope and implications for the air cargo business.