When travelers hunt for the absolute cheapest airline tickets to Europe, they don’t even bother calling a travel agent. Phone an airline directly? No way. The savviest travelers know that short of stowing away in the luggage compartment, the least expensive way to fly abroad is as a courier, helping a package delivery company escort documents overnight to any one of dozens of foreign destinations.
For years Chicagoans have been virtually shut out of the courier travel game. Although Halbart Express, a New York-based courier company, for the last year has been offering several courier flights a week from Chicago to London for $300 to $400 round trip-generally hundreds of dollars less than the lowest priced conventional airline ticket-the flights on American Airlines sell out early.
Chicagoans who happen to be in New York can capitalize on rock-bottom courier deals to major cities in every continent except Antarctica. But for everyone else, the cost of traveling to New York, or to the other courier capitals of Miami, Los Angeles or San Francisco, usually adds too much to the cost of the trip to justify the hassles of courier flying. It’s smarter just to wait for a major airline sale.
Now Chicago residents have more options. For the last few weeks Halbart Express has had openings for five couriers a week to fly from Chicago to Frankfurt on Northwest Airlines for $400 round trip, including tax. That’s $526 less than the lowest price Northwest charges for the identical flight in October. It’s $200 less than you’d be charged by any of the wholesale ticket sellers who hawk their fares in fine print ads under the “Going Places” heading in the Tribune Travel section.
If the Frankfurt flights prove popular, Halbart will begin flying Chicago-based couriers to Paris and Glasgow, Scotland, says Jack Schaper, Halbart development director. Those flights will cost $400 in October but may dip to $300 in November and the first two weeks of December, Schaper says.
What’s the catch? A few major inconveniences. Halbart needs only one courier a day to Frankfurt, so you’ll probably fly alone. Flights from Chicago depart every day but Friday and Sunday, and friends and family members who plan on traveling with you would have to buy a regular ticket on Northwest. You can buy courier tickets directly through Halbart by calling 718-656-8279. Halbart has in-house travel agents who can book regular tickets on Northwest for companions.
Halbart’s operators often are busy and impatient, however, and Chicagoans may prefer phoning a local travel agent. Dependable Travel in Westchester can book you on a Halbart courier flight to London or Frankurt. Dependable Travel prices are the same as Halbart’s. And because Dependable (708-409-1600) is a full-service travel agency, agents can secure hotel rooms, train tickets or rental cars.
Halbart does not accept credit cards, so you’ll have to pay with a certified check or a money order. Dependable Travel will not take credit cards, either, but will accept personal checks. Once you’ve paid, no refunds and no schedule changes are allowed, unless you can find a friend or relative to take your place. The airlines, by comparison, allow schedule changes for a fee. Halbart also imposes a minimum seven-day stay.
There is a bright side. Although couriers almost always forfeit their checked baggage allowance and can bring just one or two carry-on bags, Halbart stretches the usual courier rules on the Chicago-Frankfurt flights. Passengers can check one piece of luggage free and can bring a carry-on bag or two, Schaper says.
On the day of departure you can head right to O’Hare to a Northwest ticket gate, where a Halbart representative will meet you. That’s a nice touch; in New York, courier firms often ask you to find their offices, which in some cases are a few miles from the airport.
Halbart also has relaxed its return-flight rules. Couriers flying to Frankfurt can stay up to a month and have no courier responsibilities on the ride home. You just pick a return date and then show up at the airport like everyone else. Typically, courier firms impose stays of seven days and require you to escort packages on both legs of a trip.
Once considered mysterious and daring, courier flying has become more predictable and commonplace. About 25,000 Americans fly as couriers each year, riding coach class on major airlines and usually collecting frequent-flier miles. No firms offer domestic flights. Often couriers never touch or even see the cargo they are helping to deliver, so heavy lifting is not a problem, and simply carry a list of the items being shipped under their name.
Travelers concerned that they might help ship contraband overseas need not worry, says Bryon Lutz, of the International Association of Travel Couriers, a Florida-based group that guides beginners through the courier process and publishes information on upcoming flights. Instead of toting briefcases full of diamonds across a border, Lutz says, the items couriers carry are generally mail, canceled checks or replacement parts for machinery. The practice is legal, a representative for the U.S. Customs Service confirms.
In general, the later you book a courier flight the lower the price. If a flight is set to leave in a day or two and a courier firm still does not have a passenger lined up, it often drops its prices.
Earlier this year, for example, a New York courier company had a last-minute flight from New York to Mexico City available for $25 round trip.
The courier system can be confusing for novices, but the International Association of Air Travel Couriers is an excellent source. Based in Lake Worth, Fla., the association publishes newsletters and bulletins with articles on new destinations, prices and bargain hotels and restaurants in Europe, Asia and South America. A few months ago, the group started a 24-hour “fax-on-demand” service that updates members on new courier flights and prices. It costs $35 a year to join the association (407-582-8320), and there is no extra charge for using the fax service.
But most travelers can go it alone. Rob Putnam, 26, a University of Chicago library worker, heard about Halbart through a friend, phoned Dependable Travel and spent 10 days in London. He paid $410 for the courier flight, about half what the airlines were charging in September, and picked up frequent-flier miles too.
The biggest drawback, he says, was having to show up at O’Hare International Airport three hours before departure. He also had to keep explaining courier flying to his friends.
“They thought I was working for some Colombian drug cartel or something,” he says. But it was worth it. “There are minor inconveniences, but if you’re flexible you can save lots of money. I’m definitely going to do it again.”
