Yes, Virginnia, there is an air courier option . . .
© Diane Goldberg under the original topic name
What exactly is a courier flight?
A courier flight is a one where you travel for minimal cost because a company wants documents, bio-medical materials, or other items to travel as passenger luggage instead of airfreight. You are usually only allowed carry-on luggage for your personal use. The ticket usually has a specific return time.
You need to be over 21 years of age, have a valid passport, and be flexible to use the system.
Yes, those fabled fares of under two hundred dollars from the USA to Europe really do exist
So, how do you get access to courier flights?
Like the punch line of a bad joke----carefully, very carefully.
The optimal way to get a courier flight is to know someone at a company that needs couriers. The pre-requisite for that bit of good fortune is the approximate amount of good karma required to win most lotteries. Failing that it seems that the best thing to do is join a reputable organization that functions as a clearing house for courier flights http://www.courier.org/ is the web-site for the International Association of Air Travel Couriers. Check out their web page carefully---they give clear information regarding the gateway cities for most courier flights. Gateway cities in the USA are major market areas such as New York, Chicago, and Detroit. Look at the page for complete information.
If you don't live in a gateway city, you can still fly courier but you must get to the gateway and be prepared to hang-out a few days in order to get a flight.
The IAATC has a listed telephone number, which they do in fact answer. The better business bureau in their hometown has no pending complaints against them. I point this out because I investigated approximately fifty web-pages advertising "courier travel." Many of which had advertisements for charter flights or consolidation tickets you can purchase when a "courier flight in not available." Many webpages advertising "courier travel" do not list a snail mail address or a telephone number where you can reach an off web presence. You can, of course, draw your own conclusions from that.
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