Being a flight courier - how does it work?

IconBoy_2

I have heard of people being flight couriers. How does it work and how do you get involved?
Live in the UK but travel to mainland Europe, USA and South Africa.
Thanks

from_suffolk

I seem to recall that many buisnesses and institutions used to use this as a method of transporting documents.
Couriers could pay a minimum fare or be paid to take these documents and deliver them to a third party at their destination.

What with the internet and faxes etc i should expect that this has become all but obsolete now.
No doubt someone will prove me wrong!

With the problems of world wide airline security and terrorismn I would feel uncomfortable transporting items for another party.

If you're looking for a cheap deal better to stick with surfing the net!

beelywoker

I did it a few times with BA. I was flying to Cyprus and seem to remember I got at £600 flight for about £150!

All you need to do is collect a parcel from the BA desk at the airport (mine were the size of A4 envelopes) and just hand it in to the desk at the other end. It was really simple. And do the same on the return.

It did take me ages to actually get a flight though - because you have to phone a special BA number and it was constantly engaged.

lisyloo

One thing that really worries me about it is the legal aspect.

i.e. being asked - have you been given anything by anyone else etc?

How do you know that you aren't carrying drugs for example?

It all sounds quite dodgy to me.
Can someone explain this to me.

lisyloo

I have just had another thought about this.

Persumably you don't get to inspect the contents of the parcel/envelope which is presumably sealed.

What if it contains something dangerous (like a blade for exmaple).

I cannot honestly see how it can be be legal or safe to carry parcels when you have no idea what's in it.

Now, before anyone says "Ah, yes but everything is X-rayed and scanned so it can't possible be unsafe".

Well I think there have been enough examples of smuglling in bombs/knives that we all know the system isn't 100% reliable.

I realise some of you think you might save some money this way, but surely this practise of carrying stuff that you have no idea about is dangeours and illegal.

How many times do innocent people have to suffer in jail for 25 years before some of you realise that it really isn't a good idea to carry stuff for someone else.

don9999

I don't know if this is still done these days.

However, I remember looking into it a long time ago. The courier has the right to look in the package to see what they are carrying. Especially in these times, if you were to say you were carrying something and you didn't know what it was I am SURE that the airport staff would look inside anyway!

I don't think these packages contained anything particularly sensitive (otherwise the company wouldn't trust it to some stranger). I assume they were just documents that had to be transferred between countries urgently. Say...perhaps....signed contracts to confirm a deal - not particularly secret, but still needed to be seen by a nother party in another country.

Anyway...can't think of a good reason why this sort of thing couldn't be done electronically. OR..why a company couldn't use an official courier who couldn't guarantee quick delivery - probably cheaper han the price of a plane ticket too!

Cheers,
Don

Travelqueen

I did this a few times.

The way it works is: Courier firms block book seats on flights to which they generally have a requirement to fly to on a regular basis, i.e. New York etc. They can be reasonably sure that there will be an urgent delivery needed to these destinations fairly regularly. They are all pre-verified as being bone fide by the airline on which they book the seats - hence why for example you used to book your courier flights through BA Cargo.

The courier turns up at the airport, you are given documents relating to goods in the hold which have been pre-checked by customs officials. You are given the documents by BA check-in staff, and acknowledged as the 'courier'. You take the flight (you can still have your normal baggage and hand baggage allowance btw). When you land at the other end you give the package to a member of the flight crew BEFORE you leave the aircraft (generally). You duty as courier is then over until the return flight.
The returns are fixed, or you can pay more per week. You cannot choose route / time / flight, which is why courier flights are cheaper. The only exceptions on the timing restrictions (typically a week unless you pay more) are to places with more than one daily courier flight eg. New York.

On two flights I did - one to Montreal for £100 return in 1995, and one to Buenos Aires for £500 return (stayed 4 weeks) in 1997 I only carried documents ONCE, on the outbound leg of the Montreal flight!

I would say it is very safe, many people seem to be worried that they will be held responsible for the goods, but you are registered as being a courier on that flight and assured that all goods are pre-checked by customs, you never have to see or handle them... just the documents relating to them.

However, it is probably true that availability has decreased, prices have certainly risen now that more people are aware of them, and you need to be pretty flexible in your choice, and ready to book and pay immediately that you get through on the phone lines. They are also non-refundable and you HAVE to turn up.

However, they can be a great way to get a really cheap flight somewhere you've never visited - 10days in Nairobi for eg for £150...

There are many websites offering information for a fee, but you should be able to find out who does it for yourself with a bit of legwork - I think BA is the main one...

Good luck anyway if you decide to go for it, the other option is to find cheap flights on traveljungle etc!

TQ

lisyloo

Thanks for the info.
I feel MUCH better about it now and safety in general.
The thought of people carrying packages that they know nothing about was quite scary for a minute.

majren

Look here

http://www.channel4.com/4money/smartmoney/features/courier_flights_150304.html

Don't know how up to date it is but is full of good info.

Woby_Tide

I used to work for BA and basically any courier flights not sold to the public via the BA Cargo people were then issued internally round the company. The bad part was generally you only got 24/48 hours notice but the up side was they were free. I never ended up carrying any documents either but had a nice weekend in San Fransisco for free and then a nice weekend in New York, jumbo on the way out, Concorde on the way back....they did charge me £100 for that though which was a bit nasty of them!

dgregg69

I SELL COURIER FLIGHTS TO SYDNEY AUSTRALIA AND HAVE DONE SO FOR OVER 8 YEARS WITHOUT A SINGLE PROBLEM,
YOU BASICALLY COLLECT TICKET AND POUCH AT HEATHROW YOU ARE WELCOME TO CHECK THE CONTENTS OF THE POUCH (A4 SIZE DOCUMENTS) aAND OFF YOU GO ,YOU ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CARGO ONLY THE PAPERWORK ATTACHED HAS TO BE DELIVERED TO THE AIRPORT REP AT THE OTHER END..100% SAFE WAY TO TRAVEL AS CUSTOMS, THE AIRLINE AND THE COURIER COMPANY HAVE A PERSON EVERY DAY ON THE FLIGHT

GOOD LUCK