If you know where you want to go and can leave when the company needs you to, and can travel lightly, air courier travel might be for you. Its not hard to be an air courier but is a little more involved than paying for a ticket and walking through the gate.

So why travel as an air courier? One word money. Youll save lots of it by traveling as the agent of a company that hires you. Its not uncommon for air couriers to fly, round trip to London, for $100. Or Rio for $150. Or Mexico for free. You will have to pay for your stay once you reach your destination and your trip may not last for weeks but youll save many hundreds of dollars off getting to and from your vacation spot.

A courier is essentially a delivery person. You check your baggage allowance, your bags filled with cargo of some sort that the delivery company needs you to escort to the destination. You dont get additional compensation beyond the discounted or free airline ticket.

Once you reach your destination, you will often be met at the airport by the person or company that is to take possession of your cargo. You may have paperwork instructions from the hiring company to ensure you actually completed your end of the deal and transferred the goods to the right person.

Are pictures of dark figures in back alleys and accusations of working for the mafia or a drug ring running through your mind? Dont worry most couriers transport small parcels or paperwork. Being a courier is completely legal and you can always say no if you dont trust that the parcel(s) are on the up-and-up.

To be an air courier, you must be 18 or older and hold a US or European Union passport that is valid for the next six months or more. Many courier companies require a criminal record free of any felony convictions and a clean drug test, others are more lax. Either way, you should adhere to a business-casual dress code during all activities when you are representing the company and escorting their cargo.

The types of companies that use air couriers are varied. Some are looking for one-time freelancers, others are seeking a regular courier to travel between set cities. To find a company looking for a courier job that youd be interested in, you should begin looking for air courier booking agencies. These middle men introduce companies with a need to freelancers looking for a nearly free ticket. Once youve provided safe passage of goods for a company, they may request you again through the booking agent or simply contact you for future jobs. There may be a small fee when working with a booking agent but you should never pay until the contract has been signed. The fee and the supplemental airfare should still be far less than any airline ticket you could purchase.

Flexibility is very important when considering the time youll have to spend at your destination. Some return tickets will find you above the Earth heading back home after just a day or two, others might permit for a weeks vacation and still others will be open ended, allowing you to choose when you are ready to return. Once the return reservation has been booked, though, you are responsible for catching your flight. If you miss the plane home, you must find your own means of transportation home, whether that means paying full fare for a ticket or renting a car or what have you.

Once you have found a courier company youd like to consider working for, you will need to tell them which dates and destinations you are available to travel. The more flexible you are here, the more likely you are to be offered the chance to fly nearly free. Should your schedule clear up unexpectedly, you can always call the booking agent and ask for a job over the weekend or week.

The booking agent will either offer you a job when you call in or phone you when one becomes available. At that time, you can inquire about return dates and ticket price. You can then accept or decline the job.

Upon acceptance of the job, you are under a legally binding verbal contract. Many booking agents will require you to sign and fax a written contract soon thereafter, others will ask you to sign one at the airport when you meet.

Check in with the booking or delivery company a few days before your departure. Make sure you know who youll meet, when and where youll meet and specific instructions about delivery at your destination.

Prior to checking in, meet with the representative and pick up the parcels or documents, as well as your ticket. Check your luggage and keep all paperwork. Should the cargo become lost in transit you may have to prove you did everything you were supposed to do to secure its safe delivery.

Upon arrival at your destination, find the receiving agent at the pre-appointed meeting area. Once you turn over the goods or documents, its time to start enjoying your vacation. The rest of the time, until your scheduled departure, is all yours.

How? With Air Miles of course.
Did you fly with free airline tickets 6 times last year? I did!

Obtain and use a ‘Gold’ Credit Card

All major credit card companies offer a ‘Gold’ or
equivalent credit card to their customers which
includes several benefits including, free
insurances, loss and theft protection of purchased
items, and of course free air miles!

Yes, I know, they charge you a yearly fee to have
a Gold card. Yup, I paid $120 last year for my
Gold card and I flew six times. That means I paid
a whopping $20 for each flight I took. Okay, you
got me, I don’t fly for free but rather at a
99.9999% discount!

More Air Mile Points, Equals More Free Travel

Maximize the number of Air Mile Points you receive
by using your credit card for everything! And I do
mean everything.

Here are a few ways I use my card.
Personal Use:

- groceries
- clothes
- diapers
- gas
- dinning out
- movies
- entertainment
- school, tuition
- books
- CD’s
- health insurance
- home insurance
- car insurance
- life insurance
- down payment on new car
- car leases
- computer equipment
- phone bill
- Internet bill
- television bill
- water bill
- gas bill
- electrical bill
- property taxes
- and everything and anything else!

Business Use:

- Internet purchases
- paying affiliates
- paying suppliers
- paying contracted employees such as accountants,
programmers, support staff
- paying for advertising campaigns
- office equipment
- hotels
- rental cars
- food
… and anything and everything else you can think
of.

Think about it. At the end of the year, how much
of your salary is left in your savings account?
Ten, maybe even 15 or 20%?

Okay, let’s say you are an exceptional saver and
are able to save 20% or your yearly income. That
means 80% was spent on everything and anything
else. Spend it on your credit card and get the
free Air Miles!

Let me do the math for you…

Based on the example of spending 80% of your
income,

If you earned $50,000 that means you spent $40,000
If you earn 1 Air Mile for every $1.00 you spend,
that’s 40,000 Air Miles every year.

But Wait!

If you run a business and had expenses of say
$50,000 that would mean an additional 50,000 Air
Miles every year.

What if you earn and even larger income? What if
your company expenses are larger than $50,000?

Remember though, what you pay for using your
credit card MUST be paid off each and every month
in order to avoid paying absorbent interest
charges. I know, you knew that. But like
maximizing your Air Miles, most people don’t do
it. Make sure you are not ‘most people’ and enjoy
your free flights!

When making your travel reservations, request any carts, wheelchair services or any other transportation you’ll need. Fully describe your limitations and needs. Get your airline ticket and boarding pass well ahead of time so you don’t have to wait in any lines. You’ll be able to arrange travel at a discount, get better travel deals, and avoid last minute travel headaches.

Talk with your airline representative or travel agent regarding the type of restrooms that are on the airplane. Call your airport and find out as much information as possible about the restrooms and handicapped parking at the airport.

You’ll need to find out how you’ll be boarding the airplane at each of the airports involved in your trip. You may need another type of airplane or alternative route so you’ll have Jetways, or jet bridges, into the plane from the airport and not have to worry about stairs.

One year my mother and I were going to fly out of the San Jose, California airport and discovered after we arrived that we had to go outside on the ground level with the wheelchair to the tarmac. Four airline employees had to carry my mother in the wheelchair up the steep steps to board the plane. This might be impossible if there are weight issues.

Think about what seat arrangement will work best for you needs. Would an aisle seat make it more convenient to get to the restroom? You’ll want to avoid sitting in the emergency exit row. The passengers in this row may be asked to help others in an emergency situation.

Let the airlines and flight attendants know if you have any assisting devices. Find out the best way to store them so they arrive without damage.

Always keep in mind what you can do easily and without assistance, as well as situations that would require help.

Can you transfer to seats by yourself? Will you need a transfer board or assistance from airline staff?

Consider hiring a travel nurse if you have serious health or medical issues. There are traveling nurses networks.

Can you describe your wheelchair, scooter or walker, dimensions, weight, type of tires, type of batteries, etc.? You may need to take along spare batteries. You also may need to rent or buy a travel wheelchair.

Make sure to mention to your travel agent or airline representative any assisting devices you may need or already have like canes and crutches. Do you need a slow pace or are you a slow walker?

If you will be traveling through different time zones, how will jet lag affect your situation?

Consider how the following will be of concern during your trip and discuss with your travel agent: upper body strength, communication ability, speech issues, voice issues, vision problems, hearing problems, heat issues, medication needs, oxygen requirements, and dietary requirements such as gluten-free meals.

Try to arrange or book your air travel through experienced travel agencies or tour operators that specialize in disabled travel. There are a large number of agencies throughout the U. S., Canada, Europe, Australia and many other countries.

Just in case you need them, it’s also good to know if there are any travel agencies that specialize in disabled travel at your destination, for return travel, local resources or travel services.

At the airport let airline boarding personnel know that you may need extra time to board the plane. Sit close to the door at the gate so you’re called first and then board at a comfortable pace.

After the plane has landed, never get off the plane until you see or have your assisting device, wheelchair, travel wheelchair, etc. Flight attendants have to stay on the airplane until the last passenger leaves. They will help you while you’re on the plane but once you’re off the plane they won’t be able to help you.

Make sure you carry your medications and back-up prescriptions with you onto the plane, along with doctors’ names, addresses, fax numbers for faxing prescriptions, phone numbers, medical diagnosis, names and dosages of medications you’re taking and any allergies you have.

Photocopy passports, airline tickets, American Express Travelers Cheques, credit cards, any important papers.

Carry your health insurance information with you on the plane. Know what you’ll do if you encounter a health problem or medical emergency on your trip. Get travel insurance to ensure less costly medical assistance. These emergency bills may not be covered under your health insurance policy. It’ll ease your mind to have this back-up travel insurance and prevent costly emergency medical charges on your trip. Emergency medical costs can run considerably higher than standard medical fees.

These air travel tips should provide good insurance and help make your airplane travel, with health issues, handicaps, disabilities or special needs, easier, safer and cheaper.

ArticleSource: ArticlesAlley.com

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This is a significant addition for us,” said myRete co-founder and CEO, Bryant Harris, “as it provides highly requested user functionality and diversifies our revenue base.

San Mateo, CA, and Alexandria, VA (PRWEB) February 11, 2010 — WhosHere, the very first iPhone app to let you meet and interact with people nearby, now enables users to place their profile anywhere in the world for 24 hours at a time with the latest version submitted to Apple. This geo-casting feature enables users to meet users in other cities or countries, practice foreign language skills with native speakers, and get tips from locals on what to do in advance of a ‘real’ trip.

Meet the WhosHere founders at MacWorld’s Mobile Applications Showcase kiosk #5, where WhosHere 2.2 can be previewed.

WhosHere’s nearly 1 million users can buy these tickets through Apple’s In App Purchase functionality. Users can buy one virtual plane ticket for $1.99 or two virtual plane tickets for $2.99. Each ticket will allow a user to place their WhosHere profile any place in the world for up to 24 hours.

“This is a significant addition for us,” said myRete co-founder and CEO, Bryant Harris, “as it provides highly requested user functionality and diversifies our revenue base.”

Other additions to WhosHere (video overview at http://bit.ly/9MYjNN) in this release include Facebook and Twitter integrations, and a new icon for the application.

WhosHere was the first app for the iPhone and iPod touch that let you meet and interact with new people nearby. WhosHere offers free text messaging, free image messaging and free, in app VOIP phone calls on the iPhone and iPod touch.

WhosHere is a social proximity networking application that enables users to meet friends, potential dates or network through an exceptionally simple interface. WhosHere will show you matches that are near you or anywhere in the world based on your answers to a few questions about yourself and who you are interested in meeting. It takes the chance out of the chance encounter. When you find someone you want to talk with, you can send unlimited, free text and image messages to them, and make and receive free calls; all within the WhosHere application.

WhosHere runs on Apple's iPhone and iPod touch and is available for free download on Apple’s iTunes App Store and can easily be found at myRete.com/download. Users of WhosHere can find online help at myRete.com/support and on YouTube (http://YouTube.com/WhosHerebyMyRete).

About WhosHere and myRete, Inc.
WhosHere has approximately 1 million users. Over 590 million free text messages and 16 million free images have been sent via WhosHere.
myRete, Inc. was founded in March 2008 with the singular focus of bringing an exceptional proximity networking experience to the iPhone and its millions of users. myRete's product line includes the WhosHere client and WhosHere application server. Rete is Italian for “network”. Offices: San Mateo, CA and Alexandria, VA.

Press Contact:
Stephen Smith
myRete, Inc.
pr(at)myRete(dot)com
571.969.5432

Say you’re a regular Joe in dire need of a getaway though with no frequent flyer status to boot. Does that mean you have to bust the bank to get hold of airplane tickets to Dubai? You don’t need a fortune to get on a plane to some faraway land, what you need is an open-mind. Mind not the clich and read on these no-nonsense tips sure to get you good seats in cheap international flights.

Finding Faberge

Looking for airlines with cheap airfares may be likened to the search for the prized Faberge egg on Easter wherein only the persistent prevail. The trick is to look everywhere. Check with travel agencies and shops or any other legit airline ticket provider to get the best possible deal. Your local travel agent surely doesn’t have access to all registered airlines so you need to further research for flights that would best fit your budget and schedule alike. Thanks heavens modern technology has dawned upon us that we can now find travel agencies on the internet. The said online agencies offer promos and discounts that you wouldn’t want to let pass.

How Gold Is Your Time

Do you really have to leave on a weekend? Try flying on weekdays to spare yourself a thick wad of dollars - and from long lines at the airport - as midweek departures are not that in demand. For obvious reasons, people prefer to travel on weekends so airlines, consolidators and agencies use this to their advantage by offering rather expensive tickets. If you must leave during the so-called peak times be sure to make way advanced arrangements with your airline of choice. See how you can fit a weekday departure in your schedule if you’re bent on saving up on airfare.

What Lies Beneath

So you finally find a seemingly good flight at the lowest possible price. You might not even think twice about buying but try considering a few other factors before you actually shell out cash for the prized ticket. Inquire about the perks offered by the particular airline carrier that may include in-flight services, flight delay/cancellation assistance and assigned seating. Find out if you can avail of discounted car rental or hotel room reservation that comes with the ticket. Most importantly, take a good look into taxes and additional fees. Take time in looking at what lies beneath that low airfare offer, it may not be cheap after all.