When using a commercial airline, the courier company usually puts a passenger on the flight and checks its shipment on the passenger's ticket. The shipment then becomes "passenger baggage" and always arrives at the destination at the same time as the air courier (or on-board courier).

The key to becoming a courier is being flexible and able to travel within the timetable of the courier firm. The ticket can be for either one-way or round-trip travel, depending on company policy. Return portions for international trips are usually booked for one or two weeks after the original flight, but some courier companies offer a 30-day or open-ended ticket.

In some cases, "casual couriers" or freelancers are required to deposit $500 before booking a flight; the money is returned when the passenger returns. Other courier firms may charge a fee of $100 to $300, which is returned at the destination or upon return to the United States.

Air couriers accompany a variety of shipments including commercial paper (i.e., legal documents, tax documents), extremely perishable goods, or valuable objects, such as paintings, porcelain, or jewelry. Just recently my sister, who works for a museum in Los Angeles, traveled free to Egypt accompanying several important art pieces for an exhibit overseas. The art objects traveled in the seat next to her, and she got a free round-trip ticket to Paris and Cairo.

One of the main reasons for sending air couriers to foreign destinations is the fact that clearing customs is much faster for a package shipped as a passenger's baggage than one shipped alone as freight. In my sister's case, she actually had customs agents waiting for her at each stop ready to help speed up the generally slow customs process.

Working as a freelance air courier in exchange for free or very low airfare is a great travel opportunity requiring little or no skills. Air courier companies are using more freelancers because of the cost-effective features to them: no salaries and no benefits are paid, and the courier company can recoup the money for the courier's ticket from its fee. There are also courier agents, companies that act as "procurement agencies" for courier companies that want to use non-staff members as couriers but don't want the hassle of advertising, interviewing, qualifying, and scheduling them.

Usually you save up to 85% of the regular airline ticket price, and in some instances you can fly free. The savings vary depending on the season and demand, but the discount is substantial. During the summer, rates are generally higher than any other time of the year, but you still fly cheaper as a courier than with other discount fares. In short, traveling as an air courier can save you hundreds of dollars on each trip you take. Some courier companies maintain a list of couriers who they can call at the last minute in the event of a cancellation, and let the courier fly free in exchange.

Resources for becoming an air courier:

Books

The Air Courier's Handbook
Big City Books
PO Box 19667
Sacramento, CA 95819

A Simple Guide to Courier Travel
Guide Books
PO Box 2394
Lake Oswego, OR 97035
Phone: 800-344-9375

Air Courier Bargains: How To Travel World-Wide For Next To Nothing, by Kelly Monaghan
The Intrepid Traveler
PO Box 438
New York, NY 10034

The Directory of Courier Flights
Sun Tracker Enterprises Ltd
9336 - 117th Street Delta
BC Canada
V4C 6B8
Phone: 604-951-3238

Air Courier Companies

Halbart Express
47-05 176th Street
Jamaica, NY 11434
Phone: 718-656-8189
Fax: 718-244-0559

Jupiter Air, Ltd. (MICOM America, Inc.)
Building #14 JFK International Airport
Jamaica, NY 11430
Phone: 718-656-6050
Fax: 718-656-7263

Now Voyager
74 Varick Street, Suite 307
New York, NY 10013
Phone: 212-431-1616
Fax: 212-334-5243

Air Courier Association
191 University Boulevard
Suite 300
Denver, CO 80206
Phone: 303-279-3600
Fax: 303-278-1293

Johnny Air Cargo
203 South Vermont Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90014
Phone: 213-386-7080/7263
Fax: 213-386-7277

Jupiter Air, Ltd. (MICOM America, Inc.)
6733 Sepulveda Boulevard
Suite 170
Los Angeles, CA 90045
Phone: 310-670-5123
Fax: 310-649-2771M

International Bonded Couriers (IBC-Pacific)
1595 East El SegundoBoulevard
El Segundo, CA 90245
Phone: 310-607-0125
Fax: 310-607-0126

Jupiter Air, Ltd. (MICOM America, Inc.)
90 South Spruce Avenue, Suite I
South San Francisco, CA 94080
Phone: 650-697-1773, ext. 213.

UTL Travel
320 Corey Way
South San Francisco, CA 94080
Phone: 415-583-5074
Fax: 415- 583-8122