| | | | | Who
is the IAATC & What is Courier Travel? | | The
International Association of Air Travel Couriers, headquartered in Scottsbluff,
Nebraska, was founded in 1989 as a one-stop, centralized, clearinghouse for individuals
who want to travel as couriers to foreign destinations. In the last few years,
a number of imitation air courier services pretend to run "courier associations,"
but fail to actually work with courier companies directly as we have in the past
and will continue into the future. The
internet is full of illegitimate air courier firms, some of them with quite professional
web pages, purporting to be legitimate courier member organizations. What makes
us different? Simply put, our Nebraska office stays in daily contact with courier
firms around the globe who are actually looking for individual couriers.
A
simple phone call to any of these courier firms will verify the fact that our
Nebraska office of the IAATC is the only office providing daily air courier support.
|
| | What
We Do | | We
track every courier company in the world that allows members of the general public
to fly as their air couriers. We monitor the courier routes and serve as a resource
for people who want to travel cheaper by flying courier. If budget travel
or cheap flights is your aim, then becoming an air courier is your goal. |
| | What
is the Air Courier Bulletin? | We
post last-minute flights and courier updates Monday through Friday on the Internet,
which IAATC Members can access by computer 24 hours a day. IAATC Member Couriers
type in a password and instantly are able to view a courier report on the web
on cheap flights going out the same day or a few days, weeks and some times months
away.
We also fax the update for members who don't have Internet access
or are traveling away from home, etc. Daily courier postings are at 12 noon and
3 p.m. Eastern time for courier flights out of the United States. Last-minute
courier updates on flights departing from London are less frequent. Couriers with
internet access can get U.S. courier updates instantly, twice a day. |
| | Air
Courier Organizational Mission | | One
of our missions as the oldest courier organization in existence is to lobby courier
shipping firms to use members of the general public whenever possible as their
couriers on overseas courier routes. To achieve this end, we endeavor to provide
courier companies with a responsible, professional and educated couriers. By working
to help raise courier industry standards, and by acting as a safety net with the
courier as a consumer, we actively promote courier travel as an alternative method
of transportation to see the world. |
| | Courier
Departure (Gateway) Cities | | In
North America, courier flights depart from the following gateway cities on a regular
basis: New York, Miami, Orlando, Chicago (*on hold), San Francisco, Los Angeles
and Washington D.C.. Flights depart from other cities on an occasional basis.
Foreign courier departure points include London Heathrow and airports in Argentina
(on hold), Australia, Guatemala (on hold), Hong Kong, Japan (on hold), Korea,
New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand. |
| | Courier
Destination (Gateway) Cities | | Courier
companies currently service the following foreign cities: Auckland, Buenos Aires,
Bangkok, Brisbane, Brussels, Budapest, Cairns, Caracas (on hold), Capetown, Copenhagen,
Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Kingston, Kuala Lumpur, La Paz, Lima, London, Madrid,
Mauritius Islands, Melbourne, Mexico City, Milan, Montevideo, Osaka, Paris, Quito,
Santiago, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei, Tel Aviv, Tokyo |
| | Courier
Statistics & Current State of the Courier Industry | Approximately
35,000 roundtrip courier flights take off from the United States every year.
We
track another 40,000 - 45,000 roundtrip courier flights that depart from overseas
locations for which American travelers are eligible. The most spectacular growth
in new courier routes is to Asia and in and around the Orient.
Prior to
the 9/11 tragedy, courier flights had also increased to South America, but are
currently on hold and limited. Other courier flights U.S. to London and from Europe
to points outside the continent. Country-to country flights within the continent
of Europe dwindled during 1994 due to the easing of international shipping restrictions
between European Union countries. Couriers are not needed on domestic flights
within the U.S. |
| | Courier
Membership Fees | Membership
in the International Association of Air Travel Couriers is available for a yearly
registration fee of $45 in the U.S. or $50 outside North America. The membership
fee entitles members to our Member Only web site with twice-daily courier updates
and the bi-monthly Travel Guide International / Shoestring Traveler print publication.
Become
an Air Courier Today! Join Now
The
International Association of Air Travel Couriers
PO Box 847
Scottsbluff,
NE 69363-0847 U.S.A.
Tel: (308) 632-3273 / Fax: (308) 632-8267
Email:
I.A.A.T.C. Administration |
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