Whether people will take a chance on you or not depends on supply and demand.
if there are too many willing couriers, then it's easiest to pick the experienced ones.
Due to the nature of my job, I get involved in a lot of urgent freight requests.

What I suspect it's happening in your case is one of these:
A general request goes out and several courier companies jump on it - but first they need to line someone up before they can accept the job, if offered. But then they don't get the job. Some other company does. In that case, you need to find who is getting the jobs. You need to go further up the chain than the person who contacts you. They probably don't know. You need to establish some kind of personal contact further up the chain and get away from the agency bottom feed

Other scenario, courier seems to be the only way but in fact there are other possibilities, they just haven't had time to explore them at the point where they put out the courier request. For example, in the Aberdeen-Norwich chopper parts scenario, any one of these could have happened, even if you happened to be in Aberdeen or heading that way at the time:
They found the parts locally or nearer at hand.
They decided they could wait until a dedicated express van arrived. (Drivers are ravenous for work at the moment, with oil business being in a big slump)
They decided they could wait until a regular freight delivery arrived.
a staff member carried it.
Or a courier did it.


There will still be work for couriers. Think of countries where customs takes too long.
Most African countries spring to mind, except South Africa. Do you have a visa for any of those?
Angola, Nigeria, Congo, Gabon, Cameroon. Well scrub Nigeria because there are plenty of Nigerians in London who could do it and probably have their own courier companies already.
Bangladesh, Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan - having a visa for any of those would give you a great competitive edge. (Actually you can get a visa on entry in Bangladesh but they don't publicise it)

Most of all, you need contacts.

I have a friend (who is also a FT member) who does this as well, but out of Asia. This sounds pretty much like what she describes.

^ This sounds more like it, I've been talking to the agencies via instagram and facebook yeah I know not the best method but they are the only ways I can get into contact with them but they both give me scripted responses. Though it turns out I've been put on a naughty list by Wings for having the audacity to ask why they don't often respond with cancellation messages they'll send out mass messages I guess but if it's cancelled they don't usually tell you, you need to assume it's been cancelled.:rolleyes:

Sadly I only have a little old British passport but you can visit Kazakhstan for up to 30 days, at least until 31 Dec 17.

The Germans seem to get plenty more offers. :(

Thank you for your responses Mandolino.

A couple of questions for anyone who has been doing this:

a) if you are not available a few times (because you are already travelling somewhere else :D), will they stop asking you?

b) is there any point for someone who lives in Helsinki, Finland to get excited about this?

c) do you get 100% miles (expensive booking classes) usually?

d) what is the salary like, any examples?

e) do they really hire people without decent background checks or contracts? what if the courier just dumps the package in the trash can and goes home?

f) an this job be potentially dangerous, since you might be transporting classified or secret documents?

Since we have used staff individuals as couriers, but not courier companies, my answers would go like this:

a) if you are not available a few times (because you are already travelling somewhere else ), will they stop asking you?

- Possibly, but check-in anyway

b) is there any point for someone who lives in Helsinki, Finland to get excited about this?

- depends. On the plus side, Finnish passport is the most visa-free in the most countries. Depends what else you have in Finland that can't be got elsewhere in a hurry. In some cases, that might be small pump parts - e.g, talk to someone from FlowRox and ask if they've had to use courier services http://www.flowrox.com/products_services

c) do you get 100% miles (expensive booking classes) usually?
- It will depend on if the courier company has airline agreements. But , when time is of the essence, a 100% or even business class flight might be the only option.

d) what is the salary like, any examples?
- no idea. Our staff that did it just got a free holiday out of it

e) do they really hire people without decent background checks or contracts? what if the courier just dumps the package in the trash can and goes home?
- then they won't get paid or hired again, I expect.

f) an this job be potentially dangerous, since you might be transporting classified or secret documents?
- more likely (e.g.) specialist pump seals and other small mechanical parts. Somewhere in the world, and million-dollar a day operation is stopped and waiting on that part ...
I doubt anyone will hire a random courier for secret documents, and they're unlikely to be as urgent as machinery.

Don't hear about them any more but have had the benefit during the 80's - First Class travel as an OBC from LHR to SYD, HKG and above all - to JFK on Concorde!!! Who cared if you didn't have a baggage allowance.....

Not specific a UK based company, but they do also operate from UK airports: https://www.time-matters.com/company/offices/

Another story from a few weeks ago, which may not help, but you may find interesting:

Service tech 1 was on his way - on a Sunday - from ABZ to Far East Russia when he remembered that a specialist tool kit on the remote rig in Far East Russia had been stolen and remaining hand tools were in bad shape.

We had a toolkits in Singapore but nobody there with a Russian visa (the person in Singapore I thought could do it's visa had just expired, as I found out when I called him Sunday noon) . I had no toolkits in ABZ.

We had a tech on a job in Bavaria, "Service tech 2" who had a Russian visa and spare toolkits, and an extra person who could mind the job if he left. But he was due on vacation in three days so couldn't go and do the Russia job.

All ST2 had to do was drive up to Munich and catch a flight to Moscow , and hand over the spare toolboxes to ST1 who had a ten-hour transit at SVO.

Except ST2's passport with Russian visa was home in Scotland. Not far from ST1's house.

So we called a guy experienced in shipping known to both of us who agreed to courier ST2's passport to Munich.

All flights from ABZ that would get to MUC in time were full, so I booked Easyjet from Edinburgh on a phone app, emailed it through to courier guy,

ST1 got the passport from ST2's house, (luckily his wife was in) . I met him halfway between his village and airport and rushed passport to the courier's house . ST1 carried on to the airport.

Courier was waiting for me at his house with boarding pass etc printed out, took passport from me, jumped in his car, drove to Edinburgh, caught flight to Munich and met ST2 at the airport and handed over passport. He was booked to come back next evening on easyjet, so we'd booked him in a hotel in central Munich and he had a nice night and day out in Munich

Meanwhile, ST2 flew from Munich to Moscow with the toolboxes and handed them over to ST1 in SVO, just in time for him to check them in for his flight to Far East Russia.

Then ST1 stayed overnight at SVO Radisson, and flew back to ABZ via RIX next morning.

Courier guy invoiced us then for agreed day-rate, plus mileage, parking, meals etc.

Just another day in the oil patch.

AirMates is a Time:Matters OBC program. Registration is easy and the app is easy to work.

opsexpert Congratulations on your first FT post ~13 years after joining. ^ That may be a record!

This may be a bit off topic, but perhaps somebody here has some advice for me.

Trying to arrange a shipment of a single human blood vial (6mL) from Singapore to UK for a reliable Covid antibodies test. It isn’t urgent, but it has to get from door to door in <72h at 2-8c.

I got a quote from an OBC company for close to 10k. I’m willing to spend money on this, but not quite that much.

My understanding is that it can be accomplished via DHL or similar, but since it’s categorized as DG (UN3373), DHL will only accept it on a contractual basis. I have yet to find a body in Singapore that can facilitate it

Thanks in advance

Resurrecting an old thread..
I did apply for time-matters and wings and its been just an awful experience so far. First, a pile of documents to send in, then waiting for months not hearing back other than they ask resending some ”missing” documents or updating those, without ever getting a single call or offer.
waste of my time it has been, and who knows where my personal data is stored and used now.

Just a data point. Time:matters I cannot recommend absolutely to anyone.
Now I got a mail that my profile will be removed since I havent provided missing data. Well I do have resent them all their earlier requests even if they said having missing some papers (not!), and finally now they dont even bother telling me what is theirnproblem with what papers.

Quite some time I took to please them. Total shame.

Cheers