Air Couriers Take the Fast Track to Bargain Trips

Here’s good news for bargain-chasers who don’t mind traveling light and alone: Despite economic crises in Asia and business gyrations elsewhere, demand for courier travelers remains strong.

More than 40,000 seats for couriers will be available on international flights this year, by the estimate of the International Assn. of Air Travel Couriers in Lake Worth, Fla.

That figure is the highest ever, the group says. Another courier travel group, the Denver-based Air Courier Assn., reports no dramatic changes in availability in recent years, but agrees with the seat estimate, which amounts to roughly 800 seats each week on flights worldwide.

Courier travelers often pay as little as half of published fares, and the tourism off-season--right around now--is when the best deals usually come up. The cheapest fares are usually those booked with the shortest notice.

In exchange for those reduced fares, courier travelers generally let a shipping company use their luggage space in the cargo hold, usually for expedited documents; agree to take a specific departure flight and return in a prescribed amount of time; and carry paperwork to be handed over to shipping company representatives after each flight.

Mysterious as the practice may seem, there’s little chance of being made into somebody’s heroin mule. Customs officials routinely deal with courier services, and U.S. Customs Service spokesman Bill Anthony says, “I don’t think there’s been a case of this in ages. We’ve looked back, and we can’t find one.” (However, Customs officials urge travelers to make sure they’re dealing with a reputable company because travelers do bear responsibility for the baggage attached to their names.)

Most couriers travel on flights between business centers, with New York most often feeding Europe, Miami feeding Latin America and the West Coast feeding Asia and Australia. As the business has expanded, the list of cities with courier flights has lengthened.

Unfortunately for Californians, most new courier flights are from eastern cities: Boston, Orlando and Washington, D.C., are all on the upswing. Most Los Angeles departures are to Bangkok, Manila, Seoul and Hong Kong, but the business is constantly in flux.

When one courier firm recently dropped out of the trade, an official complained that other airline discount outlets were turning courier fares into a “non-bargain.” Similarly, Gary Schmidt, owner of a Minnesota travel agency for 13 years and author of a 1998 how-to book titled “Fly for Less,” suggests that “if you put any value on time, convenience and flexibility, courier travel isn’t worth it. You’ve got to be where they want when they want.”

But as Schmidt acknowledges, there are hordes of budget travelers out there willing to trade a few conveniences for a few hundred dollars. Checking quotes on an LAX-Bangkok round trip in March, I found that two discount air ticket services could do no better than $619 (tax excluded), while at least one courier service was offering the same route for less than $500.

Courier travelers usually must hold a U.S. passport, be at least 21 years old and be willing to present a clean-cut appearance. Some courier flights yield frequent-flier credits; some don’t. Many companies disdain credit cards, requiring payment by check or money order. To sign on to a courier flight, travelers need to contact a shipping company, such as the ones listed at the bottom of this column.

At least two companies are in the business of keeping budget travelers updated on courier flights and other cheap-travel options. One is the International Assn. of Air Travel Couriers, telephone (561) 582-8320, Internet: https:// www.courier.org, which sells memberships (including a bimonthly newsletter and last-minute flight lists) for $45 yearly per household. Another is the Air Courier Assn. in Denver, tel. (303) 279-3600, Internet: https://www.aircourier.org, which offers comparable services for $64 the first year, $39 for following years.

Though there are dozens of shipping companies involved in the courier business, only a handful do regular business on flights from LAX. Among them:

* International Bonded Couriers, also known as IBC Pacific, tel. (310) 665-1760, based in Los Angeles. Flies to Bangkok, Thailand; Hong Kong; Manila; and Seoul on Northwest and United airlines, with round-trip economy fares from $400 to $495. Requires a $500 refundable deposit.

* Halbart Express, tel. (310) 417-3048, based in Inglewood. Flies to London on American Airlines, with round-trip economy fares from $300 to $450, depending on season.

* East West Express, tel. (718) 656-6246, based in Jamaica, N.Y. Flies on Qantas to Auckland, New Zealand, and Sydney, Australia; and via Sydney to Melbourne, Brisbane and Cairns in Australia. Round-trip economy fares $700 to $1,000. Baggage allowed on return trip.

* Jupiter Air, tel. (310) 670- 1197, based in Inglewood. Flies to Hong Kong (one check-in bag allowed) and to Seoul on Japan Air and Asiana, with round-trip economy fares typically running $350 to $400 depending on the season. Requires a $100 deposit and a $35 fee from first-timers.

Christopher Reynolds travels anonymously at the newspaper’s expense, accepting no special discounts or subsidized trips. He welcomes comments and suggestions, but cannot respond individually to letters and calls. Write Travel Insider, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053 or e-mail chris.reynolds@latimes.com.