Customer Reviews

The Courier Air Travel Handbook: Learn How to Travel Worldwide for Next to Nothing (8th ed)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The author is less than honest with the reader. Here?s why. You cannot travel when you want to because travel dates are set by the courier company, which of course is not practical for the average traveler. Other hassles involve not going directly to your desired destination. For example, if your destination is London you may wind up being transferred first at Amsterdam before going on. Most courier packages are ?one-way? ? and a return flight is not easy to book. If you chose to courier a package you ?must meet a representative upon arrival?, and in some cases this can take hours before the item is ?back-tracked? and deemed ?clear to proceed? (as happened to me once in Ireland); not to mention the many forms that you will be forced to fill out. The author does not bother to mention that most courier companies request that you ?become a member? for an average annual fee of $45. Or the fact that it is next to impossible to travel with a loved one because the odds of finding two packages going to the same place at the same time are astronomical. But the worst is yet to come. Courier packages are not widely available as they were before 911 because private security companies are now picking up the slack. When they are available, they are subject to new and evolving international laws which may bring the courier ?under suspicion?, even though, as the author misleadingly claims, ?He never touches the package?. Courier traveling is based on a gap in international law which authorities are currently attempting to close. Couriers may soon be held liable if it can be demonstrated to some degree that ?proximity? or ?association by proxy? can be established. Many people have been questioned or held ?under suspicion? on Money Laundering charges and some have even been arrested. Many illegal items are shipped through courier packages often not to the knowledge of the courier company, but as a matter of fact to the authorities. The companies themselves are covered by insurance and by various disclaimer laws that do not apply to the courier. Shipping companies courier their packages through customs faster and cheaper as luggage. But this expediency sacrifices security for the sake of saving money. In a post 911 world this simply should not be allowed. Under international law, any given country is allowed to hold packages for hours or days and in some cases for weeks at a time. It is not worth the hassle or the risk! This is the kind of book someone can paste together in a few days, or hours from readily available sources on the Internet. The author is verbose; writes with a hustler?s mentality; and does not bother to give the reader more than a few pages of his own writing. It is a waste of paper.

You can get much more of the same information from the internet: pros/cons of courier travel, courier companies, destinations, how to set up a trip, and reference prices.

The 152 pages of large type, photos and unneeded banner separators created the impression of lot of fluff. The same text could be contained in 1/2 as many pages.

Save your money!

I originally purchased this book with the idea of traveling from Chicago to Japan to visit my sister who is teaching English in Tokyo. Ten months later and I have done a total of four trips (Japan twice, London and San Paulo, Brazil). This is the best travel secret I have found to date. Although, it takes some planning and flexibility, if you want cheap travel, this is the way to do it.

I found the book was well produced and accurately researched. I have only skimmed through the other books on this subject, but I would have no problem recommending this book to anyone.

When I purchased this book I knew nothing about traveling as a courier. This book explains just about everything that you need to know to get to where you need to go for so much less (I flew to London for 1/2 price). It is true that a lot of the info in the book can be found on the net, but there is also info about each individual company that I have not seen on the internet (or at least not for free). Courier companies vary widely in their practices and proedures, this is why this book is helpful. You will find a run-down of a lot of the questions that you would need to ask with answers already. Things such as "can I check luggage?" or "will I accrue travel miles?" and so many other things that can be so useful when deciding which company you should choose to contact. Knowing this information makes you a truely informed consumer and it also helps that the book is reputable (unlike so many internet sites). If you are going tofly as a courier buy this book!

The first poster said:

"The 152 pages of large type, photos and unneeded banner separators created the impression of lot of fluff. The same text could be contained in 1/2 as many pages."

There is no photos in the whole book. The book is 200 pages not including glossery and index. And its normal type.

To set the record straight, this book gives me much more info than is available on the web. Some of it is common sense and fluff but even so you will only get a tenth of the info in this book on the web. The company resources in the book are outdated but this book is printed in 99, resources likely gathered in 98. Take it for what its worth. Go to the library and pay $0 for the book. If your in it for the money its better than $50 for a yearly website membership.

This book is a waste of time for any reader. Obviously, Mark I. Field could care less about the content. Kelly Monaghan's book was much more useful.

Mark I. Field paints a glamorous interesiting life as a flight courier. what he didn'and couldn't account for were the morons at Homeland Security and TSA. I called 26 different companies and they were all out of business due to the moronic procedures of Homeland Security and TSA. These are the geniuses who were taking away our toenail clippers in fear we might steal a 747 with them. I haver served in security myself and it is common knowledge that a couriered set of documents is safef by far that freight stored in a warehouse for days on end,

T. Tulp

The author is less than honest with the reader. Here's why. There is the limitation of `luggage allotment' - often not more than one carry-on bag is permitted to a courier. You cannot travel when you want to because travel dates are set by the courier company, which of course is not practical for the average traveler. Other hassles involve not going directly to your desired destination. For example, if your destination is London you may wind up being transferred first at Amsterdam before going on. Most courier packages are `one-way' - and a return flight is not easy to book. If you chose to courier a package you `must meet a representative upon arrival', and in some cases this can take hours before the item is "back-tracked" and deemed "clear to proceed" (as happened to me once in Ireland); not to mention the many forms that you will be forced to fill out. But the worst is yet to come. Courier packages are not as widely available as they were since 911 because now private security companies are picking up the slack. When they are available, they are subject to new and evolving international laws which may bring the courier `under suspicion', even though, as the author misleadingly claims, "He never touches the package". Courier traveling is based on a gap in international law which authorities are currently attempting to close. Couriers may soon be held liable if it can be demonstrated to some degree that "proximity" or "association by proxy" can be established. Many people have been questioned or held `under suspicion' on Money Laundering charges and some have even been arrested. Many illegal items are shipped through courier packages often not to the knowledge of the courier company, but as a matter of fact to the authorities. The companies themselves are covered by insurance and by various disclaimer laws that do not apply to the courier. Also, under international law, any given country is allowed to hold packages for hours or days and in some cases for weeks at a time. It is not worth the hassle or the risk!

Great book, well organized with specific information on how to ravel for next to nothing!!
All globetrotters should own this book!

I was reading Kelly Monachans book, not this one. Ignore my reviews.