Is travelling as an international courier still a possibility for cheap air travel?

There are very few circumstances when it is useful to pay a person to carry an item, instead of simply paying only the airline to do ship it as cargo. Major airlines already carry a lot of belly freight cargo; indeed sixty per cent of all air freight is carried in the bellies of passenger planes. On some long-haul routes, the cargo business is more valuable to the airline than the passenger business. (The small cargo bay on the A380 is one reason it has not been particularly popular with many airlines.)

The main reason you would pay a personal courier is when you need a single person to be responsible for the delivery of essential items that cannot be delayed or interfered with. If there are problems on the way, the courier can then use his initiative to mitigate delays and smooth over problems with customs and other authorities. If you leave it to the airline or a service like FedEx, then there is no single person responsible for your watching your cargo door-to-door.

There are probably only a few situations when it is necessary to do this.

The first is medical couriering. In this circumstance, human tissues are being transported from a donor to a patient (or occasionally to a research laboratory). Time is typically of the essence, and of course, there are few or no replacements if the item is lost. Thus a courier is needed to ensure delivery and to smooth over any problems at the airport or with customs. There are a few companies who will pay for your air ticket and your expenses at the destination. However the rate of pay above expenses tends to be quite low or even unpaid.

The second and much less common example is the diplomatic courier. This is essentially the same as medical couriering, except that of course the courier must guarantee that the bag is not examined or intercepted by any person at all en route. The UK apparently employed sixteen such couriers in 2012, of which thirteen were ex-military. They also get a very cool “Queen’s Messenger” passport. http://www.passport-collector.com/experiences-queens-messenger/

The final example is some businesses will still prefer to courier essential items with their own employees. Like the examples above, it is a matter of paying for risk mitigation.

Check out airmule.com, a new service that pays travelers to deliver items for others across international borders. You can make a living at this, actually make a profit over the cost of your flight or just have fun and save costs on your international trip.

The term used is apparently air courier. I’ve found several resources on the topic after more searching.

But I have not found the names of any courier companies. They seem rather elusive!

TL;DR version:

• It does still exist.
• It has become a lot less prevalent, but only partly due to post-911 security changes.
• The savings are far smaller than they used to be.
• They use your checked luggage, not your hand luggage.

Sources:

• WikiVoyage actually has an article on air couriering.
• about.com has a good article too.
• There’s a writeup here on a website called seminar.org.
• A company called “Air Courier International” has information specifically detailed for the UK and USA.

I spent quite a lot of time investigating this last year. Last time I checked (around February 2012) the only realistic possibility of a traditional courier flight without knowing anyone on the inside or with an airline is with British Airways, who offer a courier spot on flights between London Heathrow and Tokyo Narita. I called up their reservations number, who put me through to the right department (BA World Cargo), who gave me prices and timing.

Whilst the flight price is about half what it would normally cost (between £300 and £450, though this does vary), there are certain conditions. You must return within 2 weeks (or you can extend to 3 weeks by paying an extra £50), and you need to book fairly far in advance – there’s often a 6 month lead time or longer for these flights. Finally there is only 1 courier spot per plane – so travelling at the same time as a friend isn’t possible. As far as I know Tokyo is the only destination available with BA as a courier, and BA is the only airline I could find that had a courier programme available to the general public

To be honest it’s quite easy to get reasonable flights from London to Tokyo for around £600 anyway, without any of the stipulations or hoop jumping that courier flights entail. I think the dream days of jetsetting around the world for next to nothing via courier options on flag carriers are a thing of the past.

UPDATE: I’m just trying this again – the number to call is 0870 32 00 301 (BA World Cargo), however they are only open during standard business hours. I am going to attempt this again on Monday.

UPDATE 2: I just called – flights were available from April onwards (a mix of outbound dates), but as April is high season the cheapest flight available was just over £700. The salesperson told me that the lower tier of fares for April starts at £530, but none of these were available. This means the flight is about 2/3 of BA’s normal fare. I just did a quick check on Kayak and, although indirect, Air France flies flies LON > CDG > HAN for £524 on the days I investigated. So basically no great savings (aside from that its direct).

Yes, this still exists as I have friends who have performed this task. Because of the trust issue, it has generally been arranged through pre-arranged contacts. Giving a high-value item to someone you don’t know is not a good idea. And from the other side, carrying an item through customs that you have been given can be very risky unless you 100% know what it is.

So only people who are very highly trusted are used. (Usually long-term friends or family members).

While it is a good way to see new places, it has these limitations:

• A lot of time is spent hanging around either waiting to go, or
  spending time in airports.
• Very short notice. Can you travel tomorrow…? Today…? Now…?
  Trips also get cancelled at very little notice.
• Turnaround times can be very tight. Fly into a destination and fly out on the next flight.
• Cheap seats. The aim is to get the item there, not the courier’s comfort.

So, it’s possible but very rare these days. It’s also not as glamorous as you would like. (Unless you like planes, airports and airline food).