The Skinflint’s Guide To World Travel Or How To Save Hundreds On Your Next Airline Ticket
There is a famous and often-used saying that ‘Travel broadens the mind’. Whilst this is undoubtedly true, more often than not, it also tends to empty the wallet.
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I cannot deny that, with the advent of no-frills, low cost airlines like Easy Jet and Ryanair in the UK, the cost of short-haul travel has plummeted. However, if you hold a dream of sunning yourself on the beach at Acapulco, communing with Buddhist monks in Thailand or Climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia, you’re talking big bucks just to buy the seat on the airline – or are you?
Yes, you could fly more cheaply by going as a standby passenger but buying that type of ticket comes at a price, and we’re not just talking money here.
The price you pay is not actually having your seat or flight confirmed. You are, instead, ‘wait listed’. This means that should a full fare paying passenger not turn up, you can have their seat. However, if the flight is full you will be turned away from check-in and told to come back for the next flight.
That’s fine if you are a student on a gap year with time to kill and no fixed itinerary but, for most of us, that luxury simply doesn’t exist. We all have jobs and only a few precious weeks in the year to really call our own. Being turned away once and losing a whole day’s precious holiday is bad enough, but to be turned away again and again if the destination is particularly popular and the flights are always full could completely ruin your long-awaited break.
So how else can you try to save some money on your air ticket? You could spend a few hours trawling through the Internet travel agents, ticket consolidators and airline web sites to compare and contrast their differing prices. In my humble opinion, the savings that can be made this way are minimal as prices tend not to vary that much between ‘traditional’ sellers.
Also, prices on the sites can be misleading. As you go through the booking process you suddenly realise they do not include taxes levied on air tickets. It’s only when you get to the final payment page you realise that a substantial amount more has been added to swell the government coffers. Then, on top of that, you have to add your travel insurance. The costs soon start mounting up!
But there is another, still surprisingly little known way you could book a confirmed seat on the world’s best airlines flying to some of the most exotic and exciting places on earth for but only pay a half, a third or even less of the price the person sitting next to you paid? Sometimes you could even fly for free!
Believe me; I’ve done it a few times so I know what I’m talking about. I’ve flown to places like Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia using these special heavily discounted tickets and enjoyed myself all the more knowing I’ve made huge savings on the cost of the ticket, money I could then spend on decent hotels, great food and generally having fun!
With these kinds of big savings you could treat yourself to long haul holidays or long weekends in exciting foreign locations several times a year and still have lots of spending money to splash out on enjoying yourself.
There are a huge number of people all over the world who do just this on a regular basis and you could join them. So who are these people? How do they do it? More importantly, how can you do it to?
This is where I have to make a confession. I am one of them. I admit to enjoying wonderful holidays in exciting Singapore and exotic Malaysia for a fraction of the price you’d pay and continue to enjoy enormous savings every time I travel.
So what’s my secret? Do I know a particularly good travel agent who makes ‘insider deals’ for me? No.
Am I an airline employee? They usually get great staff rates and pay only about 10% of the usual price. No, although I did used to work for an airline and did enjoy that privilege.
Do I only fly on the cheapest, nastiest airlines that fly via several different airports before they deposit me, tired and irritable, after days of flying? No. I fly with on regular, scheduled flights with the world’s best airlines such as Virgin Atlantic and British Airways.
Okay, I’ll admit it. I am an air courier. Now before you start thinking that being an air courier involves swallowing condoms filled with illegal substances, smuggling diamonds through customs or some other nefarious activity, hang on while I explain what an air courier is and what they do.
Those ‘in the know’ have been flying ‘on the cheap’ as couriers all over the world for decades and yet this particular kind of travel has got to be one of the best kept secrets in the travel business. Unlike your usual high street or Internet travel company, courier companies have not and still do not advertise their bargain air fares to the general public but instead rely on a registered network of couriers to help them in the fulfill their duties to their customers. ‘What duties might that be’ I hear you ask. Let me explain.
Every day, air cargo companies such as DHL or TNT send thousands of tones of goods around the world in the holds of the same aircraft you and I use to jet off to the sun for our two-week vacation.
These companies want to get their customer’s cargo to them in the quickest possible time with no delay. The trouble is that sending cargo, even by air, can end up being a long and laborious business.
You see, if Mr. Chang from the Singapore Noodle Company gets an order from the Noodles R Us restaurant chain in London for 10,000 packets of noodles, he can have them loaded into the hold of the next 747 leaving for London in a few hours. However, once they get to London they need to clear customs, and that’s where the problems begin.
For a start, if the flight has a full cargo, his noodles have to wait for the next available flight out that has space for his product. That could mean his customer having to wait for days. Also, unaccompanied cargo has to be subject all the mountains of bureaucracy and legal documentation customs needs to clear the shipment for importation and that can take up to a week or more. Whilst all those noodles sit in a cargo shed somewhere near Heathrow or Gatwick airport, Noodles R Us customers go hungry.
Now suppose instead Mr. Chang phones up a courier company and asks for his consignment to be ‘accompanied’ by a passenger flying on the same aircraft. Suddenly that cargo transforms itself into ‘baggage’. Shipping the product as baggage insures it will be guaranteed on the flight the courier is taking because baggage cannot be ‘bumped’ or taken off a full flight.
Also, sending the cargo ‘with’ a courier means Mr. Chang can load his cargo much later, even minutes before departure, instead of having to plan hours in advance as with ordinary cargo. He also could save money on the cost of shipment. How? The courier company he uses can negotiate with the airlines to buy several hundred passenger tickets to a particular destination. In return the courier company can get special discounted rates on ‘excess baggage’, as the cargo is classed when accompanied by an on-board courier.
When the cargo gets to its destination, because it is now regarded as personal ‘excess baggage’ by customs, it gets cleared very much more quickly, usually as fast as the courier clears passenger customs, which means Noodles R Us are able to feed their customers within a day or so of placing their order, not weeks as is usually the case. Everyone wins.
The courier may not be ‘accompanying’ just one lot of cargo either. Mr. Chan’s courier firm may consolidate several small shipments from several different companies, into one big shipment but it all gets treated as priority excess baggage by customs.
Now, the courier company has to find someone to accompany their cargo so it can get to its intended destination in the quickest possible time. And that’s where you and I come in.
In exchange for making the courier company’s life easier by agreeing to ‘accompany’ their cargo, they will offer you very heavily discounted air ticket. They can afford to do this because they purchase their tickets in bulk from the airlines who in turn, give the courier firm ‘bulk discount’ on the ticket price. They need you as much as you need them. Again, it’s a win-win scenario for both parties.
Almost anyone aged from 18 to 80 can be a courier. As long as you have a valid passport and are fit to fly, generally speaking, you can be a courier. As well as enjoying huge savings on the price of the ticket, couriers have been known to enjoy many other benefits that ‘ordinary’ passengers do not enjoy.
For instance, if your flight is grounded or delayed for some reason, because you are a courier for cargo that simply has to be delivered within a specified time, the courier company and the airlines will do everything they can to get you to your destination by alternative means, whilst regular passengers are left to fend for themselves.
Some couriers have reported that passenger immigration and customs at airports, once they know you are a courier, make sure your transit through arrivals is as smooth and trouble free as possible!
So what will you have to do as an air courier? Well, not very much really. You are acting as their ‘bum on a seat’ that enables them to ship their cargo as quickly as possible. It’s almost exactly the same as if you were traveling normally.
You call the courier company (I’ll give all the details later) and ask them if they have a seat available for your chosen destination (if they fly there) on a particular date. If they do they’ll quote you a price there and then and you can pay them by credit card or whatever method of payment they accept.
Once confirmed, the courier company will send you an information pack telling you everything you need to know about traveling as a courier. It’s all very straight forward and easy and everything is spelled out for you. If you are in any doubt you can always call the courier company for clarification. I’ve included some scanned copies of courier documentation at the end of this report for your information.
On the day of your flight you must make your own way to the airport, arriving at the appointed time and make your presence know to whomever the courier company has specified. This could be the courier representative him/herself, the airline check-in desk or a ticket sales desk. Your outbound ticket will be ready and waiting for you to pick it up.
You won’t receive your ticket until you get to the airport. The reasons for this are as follows:-
Firstly, the courier company needs you to be at the airport with a few hours to spare to make sure they have a courier for the flight. If, for some reason, you are late or fail to turn up they still have some leeway to arrange for another courier to take your place at the last minute and pick up the ticket. If you had the ticket in your possession, another ticket would have to be issued which means more delay and expense for the courier company.
If you’ve only been given the outbound part of your ticket, it’s nothing to worry about. Sometimes courier companies do this to make sure you fulfill your obligations of making the return trip with their inbound cargo shipment. Your written instructions will tell you when, where, and from whom you collect your return ticket at the end of your holiday. It’s not always the case though; some courier companies will give you the outbound and inbound ticket upon departure.
If the cargo company does not have a courier for a particular flight and you are willing to travel at short notice, this can be good news. If the courier company is desperate, they’ll offer the replacement (and remember this could be you!) the ticket at a nominal price or even for free! It has been known for courier companies to be so desperate for someone to accompany their cargo; they’ve paid the courier to travel! Being paid to go away! Now that’s my kind of holiday!
Before leaving for the airport remember that most courier companies like you to be smartly dressed because a) you are a representative of their company for the duration of the flight and b) if the economy section of the aircraft is full you could be upgraded to business or even first class and its always best to look well groomed and turned out if you are flying in these premium seats.
If the flight is over-booked you will still fly because it’s imperative that a courier does not get bumped off the flight. Airlines will not bump you if they know you are a courier so it is your duty to make sure they know what you are doing. Under no circumstances can you volunteer to be bumped off a flight in return for cash inducements or other incentives sometimes offered by airlines. To do so is to violate your agreement with the courier company which causes them no end of trouble. In return for the upset and inconvenience this may cause you are likely to loose your deposit and be barred from any future flights.
Now you have your ticket you may have to wait around for a representative of the courier company to come and meet you. He or she will be the person who gives you the cargo documentation, or ‘manifest’ you will need to carry with you on the flight.
The manifest is just a large plastic envelope containing paperwork detailing what the cargo is, where it’s going, where it’s come from and other information. The representative may be waiting for you when you arrive or turn up quite late, even minutes before the flight leaves! Don’t worry, this is quite normal and the flight won’t go without you!
Don’t be annoyed if you’ve been waiting at the airport a few hours and the courier representative turns up with minutes to spare, there is good reason for this.
The person meeting you may be busy doing his job of sorting out the cargo and paperwork. Because courier companies ship time sensitive materials, it is often necessary for them to wait until the last possible minute before sorting out the documentation, just in case some last minute cargo is booked in with them on your flight.
If it is the ‘eleventh hour’ of a flight and no-one has met you yet, don’t panic! The representative will turn up and make sure you get on that plane, even if he/she has to escort you to the front of the passenger cue at the departure gate himself/herself!
It has been known for the paperwork not to turn up until you are on-board the aircraft but again, this is nothing to get stressed about. The courier company knows what its doing, after all, they’ve been doing it successfully for many years. So just sit back, relax and let it happen. It’s all part of the adventure and excitement of being an air courier.
You do not handle or clear the cargo through customs yourself. That is all done out of sight and is nothing to do with you. But by occupying a seat on the aircraft with the cargo documentation, the requirements necessary for the shipment to be clear customs at the same speed as personal baggage, have been met.
Talking of baggage, some courier companies, depending on where you are in the world, may restrict the amount of personal luggage you can take but I’ve never had much of a problem. The courier companies I have used have always allowed me one carry-on piece of luggage and one large suitcase up to the usual weight limit, which is always more than enough for me. So if you are one of those people that like to take the kitchen sink with you on holiday, I suggest planning your essential packing well in advance!
As an air courier, you will be flying on your own. Couriers companies usually only need or allow one courier per flight. If you wish to travel with a partner, they can always book a regular ticket on the same flight. Alternatively, your partner could also fly as a courier and join you at your destination a day ahead or after you. In some cases, where there are several flights leaving for the same destination on any given day, your partner can simply book a courier seat on the next flight and arrive just a few hours before or after you do. It can take a bit of planning but the substantial savings you make on the ticket price will more than make up for this slight inconvenience.
So you’ve got your paperwork and are sitting comfortably on board. Enjoy the flight and try not to look too smug! Once you’ve landed and disembark the aircraft, collect your personal luggage and clear customs as normal. In your instructions you will have been told the procedure to follow when you get to your destination. Sometimes a courier company representative will be waiting to meet you at the airport, you may be required to drop off the paperwork at an airport office or wait at a specified place in the building with your paperwork. Then you just hand over the paperwork to the representative and when he is satisfied that all is in order, you are free to go and enjoy your holiday.
If your journey requires a stop-over on your way to your final destination, you would keep hold of your documents, clear customs and immigration in the normal way and meet a courier representative who will drive you to a business class hotel for your brief stay. The courier company pays for your rooms and, if you are lucky, meals too! Then, when your onward flight is due to depart, the courier company will pick you up from the hotel and make sure you get to the airport in good time to continue your journey.
So you’ve had a very nice holiday and are ready to return to your home country. The courier company will have included in your instructions everything you need to know regarding when to report back to the foreign airport for your return journey. Usually you will be required to re-confirm your intention to return on your booked flight with the courier company. In some instances there won’t be any cargo to accompany on the return leg of your journey and you will already have your return ticket. If this is the case you simply confirm your return flight with the airline as normal and turn up for your flight as Joe Public would.
If you are accompanying cargo back to your home country, the process at the airport is exactly the same. Your courier information pack will explain everything you need to know as regards where and when to check in and who will be meeting you at the airport. Once you arrive back at your home airport you will, as before, either be met by a representative of the courier company (if you have accompanied cargo back) or need to meet someone at a designated place in order to hand over your paperwork. Once that is completed you are free go and, having caught the courier travel bug, start planning your next dirt cheap flight!
In just a moment I’ll show you the current list of courier companies around the world that offer discount tickets but to get the very latest information on which courier companies serve which destinations, plus much more information about the world of courier travel, let me pause to tell you about The International Association of Air Travel Couriers (www.courier.org). The IAATC was founded in 1989 and its mission is to provide courier companies with a knowledgeable and dependable courier resource. Shipping firms continue to count on the association to provide them with last minute couriers in time of need as well as an information and support resource for couriers themselves. Courier companies often tell the IAATC about last minute bargain offers which are then posted on the IAATC web site.
As a member of IAATC you have a unique password which allows you access to this up-to-the-minute online information 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Couriers can also call the association office during regular business hours and get the same information read to them over the telephone.
Members also receive regular bi-monthly editions of the associations magazine The Shoestring Traveler and Travel Guide International. Each edition is packed full of the latest courier and regular bargain travel information as well as fascinating travel stories from couriers around the world. I recommend checking out their website.xx
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By: Simon Goodall
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