Fly Free: The Courier Route Did you know that international corporations will pay for you to fly to Zurich...or Paris...or Rome? All you have to do in return is agree to carry time- sensitive business cargo (it could be files or computer discs, for example) to your destination. You may never have to touch, let alone actually carry, the bags. Representatives of the firm that has hired you will take care of all the dirty work. All you have to do is check the cargo as your luggage. It's called traveling as an air courier. And it's perfectly legal. Thousands of travelers do it every year. As an air courier, you fly like any other passenger on the plane, enjoying the same comforts and amenities. There are only two differences. First, you don't have any checked luggage (just your carry-on bags). And second, you don't pay full fare for your ticket. In fact, you may not pay anything at all. But more than that, there is something exciting, even romantic about traveling as an air courier. You can be called up for duty with little more than a day or two notice -- like a foreign correspondent or an international spy. What an adventure, to receive a telephone call asking if you can leave for the Far East in 24 hours...or if you're interested in flying to London in the morning. Of course, it can be much less spontaneous, if you prefer. Some courier services allow you to make reservations weeks or months in advance. Making The Connection You want to fly to Sydney, Australia, and then take off for a grand adventure Down Under...exploring Queensland's rain forest...sailing the Great Barrier Reef...maybe traveling northwest from Sydney to Mudgee, a little, undiscovered town cradled in the Cudgegong Valley on the western side of the Great Dividing Range, where you can visit stud and sheep ranches, go prospecting for gold, and marvel at Frog Rock (a huge sedimentary amphibian that crouches beside the road)... But the cheapest round-trip ticket to Sydney you've been able to find costs US$1,500 -- considerably more than your pocketbook can afford. Don't give up on your trip. Pick up the phone and call a courier service. Explain where you want to travel and when and ask if the service has any packages going to that destination at that time. Most services require that you call not more than 60 days in advance of your trip. If it is your first time looking for work as a courier, it might be better to make the initial contact by letter rather than telephone. Tell the service a little about yourself, include a resume, and assure them that you are flexible, available, eager to travel, and accustomed to packing light (remember, you'll only be allowed your carry-on luggage). Then follow up on this letter with a phone call, requesting a specific assignment. But before you accept an assignment, verify the terms of the arrangement. Some services no longer offer free tickets to their couriers; some offer only deeply discounted tickets. In fact, as the occupation becomes more popular, it is becoming harder and harder for couriers to travel free. Years ago, courier services not only provided couriers with free airfare to their destination, but they paid them a fee as well. Today, this is unheard of. It is still possible to get free airfare, though, but you may have to shop around. And you probably will have to settle for a last-minute booking. Even if you can't get your ticket for free, you will be able to get it for about 70% less than you could buy it anywhere else. Another thing to keep in mind is that you can bargain for a fare. If you're interested in flying in two months to Buenos Aires, you may not be able to find a free ticket. (Remember, free tickets are usually associated with last-minute bookings.) But neither do you have to settle for the first fare quoted you. Haggle. Bide your time. The closer it gets to the date of departure, the more eager the courier service will be to make a deal. The only red tape involved is an application form that the courier service will ask you to fill out. Some services also charge minimal annual registration fees. The reason for couriers More and more businesses are using courier services. The reasons are simple. First, nearly all major businesses now operate internationally. When someone says, "I want it on my desk by 9 a.m.," he doesn't care that the person he's speaking to is halfway around the world. If packages or documents are shipped by traditional methods, they can take hours, even days to clear customs. Not so with material shipped with a courier. It clears customs within minutes of landing at the airport, just like any other passenger's luggage. Second, material shipped with a courier flies on a scheduled airline, and, because of that, it usually flies on time. So, when a marketing manager in Des Moines wants to send the results of his most recent studies to his affiliate in Hamburg -- and ensure that they reach their overseas destination by 9 the next morning -- he picks up the telephone and calls an international air freight company. The major freight companies, such as Federal Express and DHL International, fly their own planes and therefore have no need of couriers. Smaller operations, however, must rely on courier services to arrange for the transport of their parcels. These freight companies contact a courier service, which in turn tries to find a free-lance courier who wants to fly -- immediately -- to Germany, for example. If you happen to call the courier service that same afternoon, you're on your way to Europe. For your part, the work involved is minimal. Always check in the day before you are scheduled to depart to make sure the time or the flight or the carrier has not been changed. This is not a formality; it is a safeguard. It is not unusual. In fact, it is common for courier flights and times to be changed at the last minute. Once you're sure of your flight, simply arrive at the airport about an hour ahead of your departure time. A representative from the freight service will deliver the material to the airport and check it in as the baggage for your ticket. You'll then be given the ticket, the baggage claim check, and a form detailing the contents of the baggage. When you arrive at your destination, another representative from the freight service will meet you at the airport, where you'll retrieve the baggage, clear it through customs, and then take off to enjoy your trip. The service is responsible for making sure that the contents of the baggage are as they should be and that they are delivered where they are supposed to go. Your only responsibility is walking the parcel through customs. The courier service will have given you a sheet with instructions for your return flight. Don't lose it. And the day before you are scheduled to return home, again check in with the courier service to verify your flight time. Finding a service To find a courier service, you could simply open your local yellow pages, look under "Air Courier Services," and then call each firm listed to see if they use free-lance couriers and if they provide free tickets or only discounted tickets. But you'll probably be disappointed. The services that advertise in the yellow pages rarely use free-lance couriers and never give free tickets. A better way to start is to contact Now Voyager, 74 Varick St., Room 307, New York, NY 10013; (212) 431- 1616, a large courier service that deals with a lot of different freight companies and uses a lot of free- lance couriers. Call between 6 p.m. and 11:30 a.m. to hear a tape recording detailing all available flights and prices; call in the afternoon to book flights. Other courier services that use free-lance couriers and that sometimes offer free tickets to their couriers include: Airhitch, 2790 Broadway, Suite 100, New York, NY 10025; (212) 864-2000 Courier Network, 295 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001; (212) 691-9860 Halbart Express, 147-05 176th St., Jamaica, NY 11434; (718) 656-8279 or (718) 656-8189 International Courier Travel, 5757 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700-26, Los Angeles, CA 90045; (505) 758- 7911 TNT-Skypak, 38 E. 29th St., New York, NY 10003; (212) 532- 5777 World Courier, 137-42 Guy R. Brewer Blvd., Jamaica, NY 11434; (718) 978-9552 or (718) 978-9400 Courier Travel Services Ltd., 346 Fulham Road, London SW10 9UH, United Kingdom; tel. 71-351-0300. Polo Express Services Ltd. (a subsidiary of British Airways) 2 Fitzharding Street, London W1H 9 PN, United Kingdom; tel. 81-759-5383 Air Facility, Esmeralda 634, 4oB, Buenos Aires, Argentina; tel. (54-1) 322-7720. Jupiter Air Ltd., Ground Floor, Block 2, Tien Chu Centre, 1 E Mokcheong St., Tokwawan, Kowloon, Hong Kong; tel. (852) 761-1303, fax (852) 761-1029. Jupiter Air Oceania Ltd., Unit 4 154-166 O'Riordan St., Mascot, NSW 2020, Australia; tel. (61-2) 317-2113; fax (61-2) 317-2238. Jet Services Roissy, Batiment 3416, Module 700, Route du Midi, 95707 Roissey, France; tel. (33-14) 862- 6222, fax (33-14) 862-6246. Discount Travel International, 169 W. 81st Street, New York, NY 10024; tel. (212) 362-8113, fax (212) 362- 3236. Way to Go, 6679 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood CA 90028 USA; tel. (213) 466-1126, fax (213) 466-8994. For more information For more on traveling as a courier, read Air Courier Bargains by Kelly Monaghan, available from Inwood Training Publications, Box 438, New York, NY 10034-9959. The cost is US$14.95. Another good reference is Fly There For Less by Bob Martin, available from TeakWood Press, 160 Fiesta Drive, Kissimmee, FL 34743 USA. The cost is US$8.95. Steve Lantos is the publisher of Travel Unlimited, a monthly newsletter on international courier travel from the U.S., Canada, and Britain. The address is P. O. Box 1058, Allston MA 02134 USA. Contact the International Asssociation of Air Travel Couriers (IAATC), 8 South J Street, P. O. Box 1349, Lake Worth, F: 33460 USA; tel. (407) 582-8320. The IAATC charges an annual fee of US$35.