All you Wanted to Know About Courier Flights

The idea behind courier flights is that they are cheap economy (coach)
class flight tickets because the person flying has to accompany a parcel,
letter or some other item to hand over at the particular destination.
Why do courier flights exist? Many companies will send a courier because
it is cheaper than shipping freight by air cargo and also quicker as there
are fewer customs delays. What is sent as freight? Often the items that
are accompanied are time sensitive items such as weekly magazines or newspapers.
Courier companies have overnight shipments to cities such as London, Rome,
Hong Kong, Sydney, Tokyo, Singapore, Caracas, Stockholm, Jamaica, Madrid,
Bangkok, Milan, Frankfurt, Rio De Janeiro, Paris, Melbourne, and several
other locations in Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia.

How does it work? The courier company buys an economy (coach) class
airfare. They then resell the ticket to you and, in exchange for your
luggage space, give you a discount on the airfare. The courier company
uses your luggage space for the material it is shipping. A representative
from the courier company will meet you at the departing airport. They
will give you the manifest and all the shipping instructions. On arrival
at your destination, another courier representative will meet you. You
have to give them the manifest and that’s it! You are not usually allowed
to have contact with the luggage and may not actually see the packages
they are shipping.

They can be used by budget travellers as a cheap way of getting from
A to B. You are treated as a normal passenger on the plane and there is
no special designation that marks you out. You must be over 18 at the
time of travel to take advantage of a courier flight. There are often
restrictions on the amount of luggage you may take with you on your journey,
as the courier company usually uses your allocated luggage space to pack
their goods in, so it is best to ask. It is usually not possible to arrange
a courier flight with a friend, as courier flights tend to be one off
events on a given plane.

You can book several months in advance or, if you are flexible in your
destination, you can leave it quite late when deals will be cheaper. Your
length of stay is determined by the day of departure however, most tickets
are for at least 7 days. Others allow 10 days, 14 days, 21 days, and up
to 6 months – you must ask.

The pros? Well, you can get make substantial savings on the cost of
air tickets and you can go to a wide range of destinations. The cons:
you must usually travel alone, you are often restricted in the amount
of luggage you can take and can also be restricted in the amount of time
you can spend in your arrival destination. There are a number of websites
advocating courier flights. The majority sells courier flight information
or listings for anything between $5 and $10. Useful websites include:

If anyone has experience – good or bad using courier flights,
then please write in and tell the Beetle: Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk