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Top Document: FAQ: Air Traveler's Handbook 2/4 [Monthly posting] Previous Document: [2-3] Consolidators Next Document: [2-5] Travel Agencies that Specialize in Students See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge
One way of getting cheap international flights is to fly as a
freelance courier. There are a few companies which will pay you for
the right to use your baggage allowance, yielding a heavily-discounted
fare (typically a little more than half the regular discounted fare).
For them, this is much cheaper (and sometimes more reliable) than
paying cargo rates for shipping. Since the shipment is usually
time-critical (e.g., financial documents), it is essential that the
package be classified as baggage. Baggage is less likely to be
"bumped" from a flight than freight. The courier company can't simply
buy a ticket and leave the seat empty, since the seat must be occupied
for the freight to be listed as baggage instead of freight.
The courier company earns a percentage of the savings from the company
shipping the package. They also further defray their costs by selling
the seat to you (at a discount, of course). The courier company may
also charge you an annual registration fee (typically $50) or a
refundable deposit ($100 or $200 is common). If the courier company is
really desperate, sometimes (rarely) you can get them to pay for all
or most of your ticket. The tickets are non-refundable -- you pay the
money for the ticket to the courier company, who then buys the ticket
from the airline. The trips are usually very short notice, typically
1-2 weeks. When shipments are done on a contract, seats can be
assigned to couriers several months in advance.
Some courier companies are less shipping companies than they are
courier brokers. Such companies match couriers with companies that need to
ship packages. An annual registration fee is usually a good tipoff
that the company is a courier broker, though there are no hard and
fast rules of thumb.
You do not deal with the baggage, other than (occasionally) to
hand-carry a set of paperwork. You will not get the tickets until you
arrive at the airport (at the last minute) and meet with the freight
company's representative to get the paperwork. The representatives are
sometimes late and disorganized, so be prepared for some anxious
moments while you try to connect with them. When you arrive at the
destination you'll turn over the manifest to another representative of
the company. You'll probably have to wait for some time for the bags
to be unloaded and to clear customs.
You are allowed a carry-on. There may be other restrictions, such as
limits to the length of the stay (e.g., usually anywhere from one week
to 30-days maximum, though it can vary significantly from case to
case). Sometimes you can use the baggage space on the return flight,
depending on the company and the situation (many companies have you
couriering a shipment both ways). If the company doesn't need you to
escort a package home, sometimes you can change the return date on
your ticket. You're responsible for your expenses at the destination
(e.g., food, hotel), so you'll probably want to learn the ins and outs
of staying in youth hostels. Since only one courier is needed for a
route, you'll be traveling alone. If you want to travel with a friend,
don't courier. You must be at least 21 years of age, have a valid
passport, and be somewhat levelheaded. It helps if you have a sense of
adventure.
You will most likely be flying on a major carrier. In the US, most
courier companies are located in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,
New York, and San Francisco. There are also courier companies based in
England, various major european cities, the far east, Australia,
Argentina, Singapore, Honk Kong, Tapei, Japan, South America, Canada
(Toronto, Montreal), and so on. Courier travel between destinations in
the US is much less common these days, as US domestic airline package
delivery services have improved enough to no longer make couriering
cost effective. (For example, shipping a package from Pittsburgh to LA
with same-day delivery on an airline costs around $50.) So most
courier travel is between the US and an overseas destination. If
you're not located in a city that has courier companies, you'll be
responsible for your transportation to that city.
It is much easier to find a trip by visiting their offices in person
than by mail or over the phone. If you don't live near one of the cities
from which most couriers depart, it probably isn't for you.
There are risks involved, so be sure to use a reputable courier
company and get references. Horror stories include stranded
passengers, couriered luggage that contained contraband, and so on.
Also beware of fly-by-night outfits that advertise cheap fares and
then disappear with your money. If you haven't traveled by courier
before, be very careful.
The likelihood of finding a courier company that needs a package
escorted to your favorite destination on the day of your choice is
next to nil. Courier travel just isn't well-suited for planned
vacations. Likewise, if you have commitments or other obligations
(e.g., making a connection for your return flight home, getting back
to school on time), don't count on meeting them. Some people have
smooth trips, others don't. If you're just after cheap international
airfare, you're probably better off going to a bucket shop. The
savings just aren't enough to make the hassles worthwhile. But if
you're very flexible about when you want to travel and can leave on a
moment's notice, or you don't care where you go, so long as you go
somewhere soon, then couriering is a great way to see the world a bit
at a time.
Some books about flying as a courier include:
o The Air Courier's Handbook, $9.95
Big City Books, PO Box 19667, Sacramento, CA 95819
o The Courier Air Travel Handbook, 1993, $7.95.
Mark I. Field, Thunderbird Press, 5930-10 W. Greenway Road,
Suite 112B Glendale, Arizona 85306 USA
o A Simple Guide to Courier Travel, $15.95
1-800-344-9375
Guide Books, PO Box 2394, Lake Oswego, OR 97035
o The Insiders Guide To Air Courier Bargains
1-800-356-9315. $14.95 + $2 p&h.
Kelly Monaghan.
Inwood Training Publications, Box 438, New York, NY 10034.
o The Air Courier Guide Handbook, 5.99 pounds sterling
John Walker Books, 160 Cromwell Road, LONDON SW5 0TL
o Directory of Freelance On Board Couriers, $9.95 Canadian.
The Inside Track Travel Group, British Columbia, 604-684-6715.
Newsletters:
o Travel Unlimited, $25/year, 12 issues (8 pages each issue)
Attn: Steve Lantos, PO Box 1058, Allston, MA 02134-1058
SteveL2555@aol.com
o International Association of Air Travel Couriers
$35 registration fee, gets you six copies of the Shoestring
Traveler newsletter and six issues of the Air Courier Bulletin
directory.
Run by Bill Bates.
International Association of Air Travel Couriers
International Features
PO Box 1349
Lake Worth, FL 33460
Tel: 407-582-8320
(Street address is 8 South "J" Street, Suite 3, Lake Worth.)
Courier Agencies in New York:
Able Travel and Tours 212-779-8530
Paris, London
Air Facilities 718-712-0630
South America
ACC 212-983-0855, 800-983-0856
Courier Network 212-691-9860
Israel
Courier Travel Service 516-763-6898, 516-374-2261 (fax)
516-374-2299, 212-836-1989
718-244-0101, 718-COURIER
Worldwide, but mainly to Europe. Some to Middle East, Asia, and
South/Central America. 1 week stays. No fee. Hours 09:30-17:00
weekdays.
Discount Travel International (DTI) 212-362-8113/3636
212-655-5151
To Mexico, South America, Asia, and Eastern and Western Europe.
169 W. 81st Street, New York, NY 10024
East-West Express 516-561-2360
To Singapore, Asia, and Australia.
Halbart Express 718-656-8189/8279
New York to Europe only. or 718-995-7019
10am-3pm only
147-05 176th Street, Jamaica, NY 11434.
IBC 718-262-8058.
Jupiter Air 718-341-2095, 718-656-6050
New York to Hong Kong and Singapore.
Now Voyager, Inc. 212-431-1616
74 Varick Street, Suite #307, New York, NY 10013.
Europe. Call between 10:00-16:30 M-F, 12-4:30 Sa, recorded
message other times. Charges $50 registration fee.
Major cities in US, routed through NY. Payment via certified
check, money order, or credit cards (3% processing fee).
Tickets are on standby. FedEx's the tickets to your address.
You courier both ways.
Rush Courier 718-439-9043
Puerto Rico
World Courier 718-978-9400, 718-978-9552/9408
800-221-6600
9am-noon only. Requires personal interview in New York.
Does not fly to Paris. Flies mostly to Europe and Mexico.
Courier Agencies in Miami:
A-1 International 305-594-1184
To Venezuela
Air Facilities 305-477-8300
DTI 305-538-1616
Halbart 407-483-8832,305-593-0260
To Europe.
IMS Courier Service 305-771-7545
To Jamaica
Line Haul Services 305-477-0651
To Latin America, Central and South America
Martillo Express 305-681-6979
Trans Air Systems 305-592-1771
To Central and South America
Travel Courier 718-738-9000
Courier Agencies in Chicago:
TNT Chicago 312-453-7300 (area code 708?)
To Mexico and London.
[doesn't seem to exist anymore?]
Courier Agencies in LA:
City Link 213-410-9063
[doesn't seem to exist anymore?]
Crossroads International 213-643-8600
3pm-5:30 pm
[doesn't seem to exist anymore?]
IBC Pacific 310-607-0125, 415-697-5985
9am-4pm T-F. Asia, Australia.
Jupiter Air 310-670-5123
Flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea (Seoul).
$200 deposit required for all flights. $35/year membership required .
Max stay 30 days, one-week minimum for Seoul. Reserve 2-3 months
in advance.
Midnight Express 310-673-1100
Flies only to London.
Polo Express 310-410-6822
Flights to Hong Kong, Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, and Bangkok.
No deposit, no fee. 2-week stay, except in Australia (3-weeks).
Reserve 6 weeks to 3 months in advance.
SOS Intl Courier 310-649-6640
Mexico
Way to Go 213-466-1126/1166
6679 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles 90028
Flights to Far East (Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur,
Penang, and Singapore), with some flights to Mexico and London.
$75/year membership fee. San Francisco office 415-292-7801;
San Diego office 619-224-0252.
World Travel & Tours 213-384-1000
Korea
Courier Agencies in San Francisco:
Gateway Express 415-344-7833
111 Anza Blvd. #418 Burlingame, CA 94010
Jupiter Air 415-872-0845, 415-872-6506
Flights to Singapore, Hong Kong, and Manila.
Polo Express 415-742-9613
Flights to Hong Kong, Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, and Bangkok.
No deposit, no fee. 2-week stay, except in Australia (3-weeks).
Reserve 6 weeks to 3 months in advance. For info send SASE to
Polo Express, 811 Grandview Dr., South San Francisco, CA 94080.
TNT San Fransisco 415-692-9600
Call afternoons only. Hong Kong.
UTL Travel 415-583-5074
Flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, and Manila.
Way To Go 415-292-7801
Asia, London, Mexico
Bahrain:
Line Haul Express (0973)-258-700
Buenos Aires:
Air Facility (1)-3220-7720
Canada:
F.B. On Board Couriers (Montreal) 514-633-0740/0951
Courier travle to London, England. Call 9am-Noon EST for info.
Located in Montreal but also serves Toronto.
F.B. On Board Couriers (Toronto) 416-675-1820
Cargo only.
F.B. On Board Couriers (Vancouver) 604-278-1266
Courier travel to Hong Kong from Vancouver.
Jet Services 514-331-7470
Paris
Germany:
Line Haul +49 69 69793260
Located in Frankfurt/Main. Flights to Hong Kong, Sydney, and possibly
other destinations.
Hong Kong:
Bridges Worldwide (03)-305-1413
London, Sydney, US, Asia
Great Bird Courier (03)-332-1311
Honolulu, Tokyo, Taipei
Intl Courier Travel (03)-718-1332
Jupiter Air (05)-735-1886, (05)-735-1946
Asia, US, Sydney
JNE (03)-736-8678
Bangkok
Line Haul Express (03)-735-2167, (03)-735-2163
London, Asia, Vancouver
Polo Express (03)-303-1286, (03)-303-1287
Asia, LA, Sydney
Wholepoint (03)-718-0333
London:
Courier Travel Service (0181)-844-2626, (0171)-351-0300
F.B. On Board Courier (0175)-368-0280
Canada
Line Haul Express (0181)-759-5969
Paris: To New York
Halbart Express (01)-45873230
Jet Services (01)-48626222
Rio de Janiero:
Air Facility (021)-252-9597
Seoul:
Jupiter Air (02)-655-6024
Sydney, Australia:
Courier Travel Service (02)-698-3753
Intl Courier Travel (02)-317-3193
London
Jupiter Air (02)-317-2113, (02)-317-2230
London, Asia, Auckland
Polo Express (02)-693-5866
Los Angeles, Auckland
Taipei:
Jupiter Air (02)-551-2198
Line Haul Express (02)-731-5367
Tokyo:
Line Haul Express (03)-376-98354
User Contributions:Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic:Top Document: FAQ: Air Traveler's Handbook 2/4 [Monthly posting] Previous Document: [2-3] Consolidators Next Document: [2-5] Travel Agencies that Specialize in Students Part1 - Part2 - Part3 - Part4 - Single Page [ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index ] Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer: mkant@cs.cmu.edu
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Throughout time, we can see how we have been slowly conditioned to come to this point where we are on the verge of a cashless society. Did you know that the Bible foretold of this event almost 2,000 years ago?
In Revelation 13:16-18, we will read,
"He (the false prophet who deceives many by his miracles--Revelation 19:20) causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666."
Speaking to the last generation, this could only be speaking of a cashless society. Why's that? Revelation 13:17 says that we cannot buy or sell unless we receive the mark of the beast. If physical money was still in use, we could buy or sell with one another without receiving the mark. This would contradict scripture that states we need the mark to buy or sell!
These verses could not be referring to something purely spiritual as scripture references two physical locations (our right hand or forehead) stating the mark will be on one "OR" the other. If this mark was purely spiritual, it would indicate both places, or one--not one OR the other!
This is where it really starts to come together. It is incredible how accurate the Bible is concerning the implantable RFID microchip. This is information from a man named Carl Sanders who worked with a team of engineers to help develop this RFID chip:
"Carl Sanders sat in seventeen New World Order meetings with heads-of-state officials such as Henry Kissinger and Bob Gates of the C.I.A. to discuss plans on how to bring about this one-world system. The government commissioned Carl Sanders to design a microchip for identifying and controlling the peoples of the world—a microchip that could be inserted under the skin with a hypodermic needle (a quick, convenient method that would be gradually accepted by society).
Carl Sanders, with a team of engineers behind him, with U.S. grant monies supplied by tax dollars, took on this project and designed a microchip that is powered by a lithium battery, rechargeable through the temperature changes in our skin. Without the knowledge of the Bible (Brother Sanders was not a Christian at the time), these engineers spent one-and-a-half-million dollars doing research on the best and most convenient place to have the microchip inserted.
Guess what? These researchers found that the forehead and the back of the hand (the two places the Bible says the mark will go) are not just the most convenient places, but are also the only viable places for rapid, consistent temperature changes in the skin to recharge the lithium battery. The microchip is approximately seven millimeters in length, .75 millimeters in diameter, about the size of a grain of rice. It is capable of storing pages upon pages of information about you. All your general history, work history, criminal record, health history, and financial data can be stored on this chip.
Brother Sanders believes that this microchip, which he regretfully helped design, is the “mark” spoken about in Revelation 13:16–18. The original Greek word for “mark” is “charagma,” which means a “scratch or etching.” It is also interesting to note that the number 666 is actually a word in the original Greek. The word is “chi xi stigma,” with the last part, “stigma,” also meaning “to stick or prick.” Carl believes this is referring to a hypodermic needle when they poke into the skin to inject the microchip."
Mr. Sanders asked a doctor what would happen if the lithium contained within the RFID microchip leaked into the body. The doctor replied by saying a (...)