Air Couriers: A Dying Breed

Veteran air couriers have no doubt been painfully aware of this for some time, but it seems the once-attractive budget travel option has all but disappeared. A story on MSNBC.com —and co-authored by World Hum contributor Alexander Basek —reports that air courier services are struggling to stay afloat, largely as a result of post-9/11 security restrictions and the growing availability of budget air fares. “Today, documents route seamlessly via the Internet, while physical cargo (and travelers with one-way tickets) are scrutinized more closely than ever,” the authors write. “Both these facts of modern-day life make for tough times at courier companies.”

The few remaining courier services still offer greatly reduced fares, they note, but ferreting them out likely won’t be worth the hassle:

Should you actually get a decent courier fare, most likely directly from an air shipping agency rather than through a third party, prepare for restrictions. You’ll be expected to do a return run, you can’t collect frequent flier points, and flights depart only from major cargo hubs (London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York, Miami) so you’ll have to pay your own way to reach one. Some couriers limit your baggage to carry-on.

In the mid-‘90s, I remember hearing about friends-of-friends scoring last minute flights to Prague as couriers, sparking jealousy in those of us who were desk-bound. It had quite the cachet back then; now, everyone I know is content to wait for “fare alerts” to land in their inbox.

Related on World Hum:
* Ask Rolf: How Do I Land a Travel-Related Job?
* Are You a Member of the ‘Backpack Lunatic Fringe’?

Photo by contraption via Flickr, (Creative Commons).

 

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