I would like any info on flying from the states to Madrid as a courier.

I just read an article about courier travel in the US after September 11th. Supposedly the industry is basically dead. The incentives companies had to utilize couriers are basically gone. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/travel/1412972

I signed up for one of these companies once... besides actually traveling as a courier, you're also supposed to be able to get REALLY cheap flights just about anywhere. I found that it was WAY too limited as far as departures and time you were allowed to stay... but to each his own. But I had trouble with the company later getting my membership $$ back and they still never paid me back the whole amount. I guess it can work, for other people, but unless you're retired or a student or have a VERY flexible schedule when it comes to work, i wouldn't recommend it. And keep in mind that it best serves people who live near a MAJOR airport (miami, St. Louis, JFK, Washington Dulles... etc.) Good lluck! And keep us posted if you try and how you feel it works!

Wendi - when you get hired as a courier and have access to the ultra-cheap flights to Spain please ask if they have jobs for the other 1000+ board members here who want to do it as well. thanks.

Thanks for the info. I am curious if the company that didn't return the money to Espe3 is the International Association of air travel couriers?
I am a student so my schedule is flexible, I don't have to be in Madrid until Sept 1, but I won't be returning until next June. The problem is, to even try to be a courier you have to join one of the above companies$$ which it appears can be a waste of money and as a starving grad student I have no money to waste. So, if anyone knows of any deals out there let me know
Thanks Wendi

My college roommate used to fly as a courier back and forth to see her dad in Ecuador (this was in 1990 or so). On one flight, the transport company met her at the airport in Miami, handed her a packet, and off she went...only to learn at the other end of the flight that the packet was full of cash...a LOT of cash!

I'm sure restrictions are MUCH tighter now for transporting anything at all on planes, of course!

If you want to know about REAL couriering, here's an excerpt from "The Simpsons" (everything you see on "The Simpsons" is completely trustworthy--this is from the script for the "road trip to Tennessee episode):

Bart decides to go with the courier idea.

Bart's first assignment takes him to exotic Hong Kong. He hauls a cooler labeled "HUMAN EYES" off the plane, and brings it to a man in a white lab coat. They respond to each other in Chinese. Skinner, still on his spring break, spots them.

Back in Knoxville, things aren't working as planned. Milhouse wants to call their parents, but Bart calls Lisa instead and tells her that
he needs to courier something large to Springfield, but something like that is out of the Simpson's price range. The dispatcher gives
Bart a job couriering 5,000 Big Macs to Marlon Brando, and Bart says "I can't take much more of this. I'm counting on you, Lise." And hangs up.

That would be the one! And I was living in the NYC area at the time, in a PUBLISHING job (no money to be made there folks!) so $$ was tight! It was only $10 they didn't pay back, I think it was because someone on their side screwed up... but since I'm such and outstanding customer, my CC company took care of it for me! I was annoyed, they shouldn't have had to do that, but after 2 months of correspondence and phone calls, i wasn't really getting anywhere with them, so I just let it go. True about the fees... check hotwire, now there there is NO flexibility, but at least you can get a really good price! (you fly on the date you specify and come back or you have to buy a whole new ticket! :o ) And you have only 1 hour to purchase the ticket once they quote you. The only bad thing is they don't give you the airline you'll be flying with until you purchase the ticket. HOWEVER, they have a place on their website that you can see what airlines they deal with, and they are all VERY REPUTABLE! So no worries there. I got a ticket to spain through Air Italia, was like $400 or something for new years, but ended up having to buy a completely new ticket (with help from mom as a x-mas present/bribe) because I couldn't change the dates... so there you go!