OBC in DUB?

Arpa

Anyone know if there are any companies based in Dublin who do regular On Board Courier runs to Europe or further afield. I would love to get into this line of work but have no idea where to begin.

Any tips would be great. Cheers Guys

donkey balls

Have to say I haven't heard of that abbreviation (OBC)in a long time,And from memory no one really uses them as the big express couriers/airlines can get a package/parcel delivered any where within Europe/USA by the next morning.
With all packages tracked from the moment there picked up to the final destination.

Arpa

Yeah, I've been searching Google for days trying to find something located here but no joy. There are plenty of companies working out of Shanghai and Singapore dealing mostly with automotive parts. In fact I was even offered a job if I relocate to Singapore. Although Singapore doesn't appeal to me as a place to live...too clean cut. But seen as we don't export much time critical stuff from here maybe I'll consider it. Strange considering all the tech giants here. You would think that a hardware part might need fast shipping to Europe.

The term OBC is still floating around, but it's also being called hand carry agent too.

Thanks for the reply donkeyballs, seems not many people know too much about this line of work.

Strumms

Ive seen one in say the 5 years done through our lot and maybe only 1 or 2 more in the few years before. It was to Turkey via LHR commercial, done by a ramp guy who got some airmiles, a little extra sugar in his tea and a night out in Istanbull for his trouble as I recall (not me I hasten to add) . It isnt something that you see nowadays for the reasons mentioned by donkeyballs. Contract's get emailed and courier transit times to major markets are mostly all next day AM deliveries.

Chopperdog 2

Wow, this brings back memories.
I worked for Fedex in Dublin many moons ago in an admin capacity but doubled up as the Dublin based OBC when required. Would normally make 2 or 3 trips per week.
I got plenty of overnighters out of it, plenty of other pirks and really enjoyed what I was doing. It wasn't rocket science but neither was it too taxing.

Btw; this was early nineties.

Arpa

Ah that would have been my dream job, flying 2/3 times a week. Doesn't matter where, I just feel at home in airports.

I would gladly do admin for Fedex, DHL or someone if I got to double up as OBC, but it seems this career, at least in Ireland is a thing of the past.

Maybe I'll have to move close to LHR or Frankfurt or even Shanghai and Singapore.

Now just the issue of getting a VISA.

Does anybody think going it alone as a freelancer would be viable? Do you think I would I need some sort of accreditation/courier licence etc?

Would be nice to hear any other stories about OBC's though. Chopperdog, did you need any extra VISA/travel documents/licence when you were doing this? Was it fly out fly back same-day or did you get some overnights in the destination? Was everything covered by FedEx? Would appreciate just hearing your story. Thanks for the replies guys, you would be surprised how difficult it is to gather info on this type of thing.

Foggy43

It has been a while since I have heard of this. Try here

http://www.baworldcargo.com/products/courier.shtml

There maybe some info but not sure about Dublin.

Arpa

Cheers Foggy I came across that link a while back. I haven't had time to call with work and all but I suspect they are running a scheme whereby they reduce the value of your fare if you accept to carry on some cargo as hand luggage, a slightly different system. Thanks for the info though. It's excruciating trying to chase down any leads on someone in a company who has a say on this type of thing...I suspect that's because there is not much of a demand and when it is needed it's probably someone in house that goes out, like chopperdog said.

Would love to just get a call last minute, pick up package, rush to the airport, be on a flight to Heathrow, get a connection to Dubai, drop off package and await return flight. I don't even care about seeing the sights, just want to move through airports and on flights as a career...most people will probably say I'm crazy but hey...it's what I like.