On-Board Courier Services
An on-board courier — OBC, or hand-carry — is the fastest sensible way to move a small, urgent consignment: a dedicated courier collects it, carries it in the cabin of the next suitable flight, and delivers it by hand at the other end. No cargo terminals, no consolidation, no waiting for freight capacity. MEGA Aviation arranges on-board courier services worldwide for documents, parts, samples, medical consignments and anything else small enough for the cabin and urgent enough to justify a person flying with it.
What an on-board courier carries
The consignments that suit hand-carry share a profile: small, valuable, urgent and cabin-legal. Typical examples:
- Documents — contracts, tenders, legal papers, passports and certificates that must arrive as originals.
- Aircraft and industrial parts — the small component that releases a grounded aircraft or restarts a line. For larger AOG consignments, see our AOG aircraft parts process.
- Medical consignments — samples, medicines and devices within cabin rules; our time-critical medical cargo page covers the medical side in depth.
- Electronics and data — prototypes, drives and equipment that cannot be trusted to a cargo hold.
- Valuables — items whose value or sensitivity demands that somebody accountable never lets go of them.
How a hand-carry mission runs
- Collection. The courier collects the consignment from your door, with custody documented from the first hand.
- The flight. The courier travels on the next suitable scheduled service — or a charter where the timetable demands it — with the consignment in the cabin, never checked, never left.
- Customs and borders. The courier manages border formalities with the documentation prepared in advance. Cabin carriage does not exempt a consignment from customs — the paperwork is planned for the specific country pair before departure.
- Delivery. Hand delivery to the named recipient against signature, with the custody record completed.
- Updates. You know where the consignment is throughout, with proactive updates at collection, departure, arrival and delivery.
When hand-carry is the right answer — and when it is not
Hand-carry is the right answer when the consignment fits the cabin, a scheduled flight fits the window, and the value of speed and custody justifies a dedicated traveller. It is the wrong answer when the consignment is too large or restricted for cabin carriage, when no scheduled routing protects the deadline, or when cancellation risk is unacceptable — in those cases a dedicated aircraft is the honest recommendation, and our time-critical cargo charter page covers it. We assess the real timetable and the airline's actual acceptance rules before recommending either, and we will tell you plainly when a courier is enough and when it is not.
Visas, routings and the courier's own logistics
A hand-carry mission is only as good as the courier's ability to actually make the journey. Entry requirements matter: a routing that transits a country requiring a visa the courier does not hold is not a routing, whatever the timetable says. We plan missions around the courier's documentation as carefully as around the consignment's — choosing routings the assigned courier can legally travel, arranging visas in advance where lead time allows, and keeping backup couriers identified on critical missions. Connection discipline matters too: a tight connection that risks the consignment missing the onward flight is replaced by a robust one, because a courier stranded in a transit hub has failed the mission as surely as a lost shipment.
Airline rules and what can fly in the cabin
Cabin carriage lives inside airline rules, and they are not uniform. Size and weight limits for cabin baggage vary; some consignments need an extra seat booked for them; certain items — lithium batteries above limits, liquids, anything classed as dangerous goods — face restrictions or outright prohibition in the cabin. Security screening applies to couriers like anyone else, and unusual consignments are best pre-notified to the airline. All of this is checked for the specific consignment and routing before we confirm, so there are no surprises at the gate.
Security, confidentiality and chain of custody
Many hand-carry consignments are sensitive as well as urgent — tender documents, legal originals, prototypes, personal items. The courier's custody is the security: the consignment is collected, carried and delivered by one accountable person, with the handovers documented. Where the sender requires it, additional measures are agreed at booking — sealed packaging, photographic records at each handover, named-recipient-only delivery. Confidentiality is standard: the courier knows what is needed to carry the consignment safely and legally, and no more.
Multi-leg and multi-drop missions
Not every hand-carry is a single A-to-B. A consignment may need collecting from one site, documents signed at a second, and delivery at a third; or several small consignments for different recipients may share one courier's journey. Multi-leg missions are planned with the same custody discipline as single deliveries — every handover documented, every leg confirmed against the airline's rules — and quoted as one mission so the cost is clear. Where a consignment must be split across two couriers to protect a deadline, that is planned deliberately rather than improvised.
Out-of-hours and weekend collections
Urgent consignments do not respect office hours, and neither do hand-carry missions. Evening and weekend collections are routine — the courier collects when the consignment is ready and takes the first flight that protects the deadline, not the first flight of the next business day. Where the deadline falls across a weekend or public holiday at the destination, the receiving arrangements are confirmed in advance so the consignment is handed over, not held.
Coverage and timing
On-board courier speed is the speed of the scheduled network plus collection and delivery: for major city pairs with frequent flights, same-day or next-morning delivery across continents is realistic; for thinner routes the timetable decides, and we quote the honest answer. Couriers are positioned from our network across the Middle East, Europe, Asia and beyond, and missions run at any hour the flight schedule allows.
What it costs and how to decide
An on-board courier costs the courier's travel, time and coordination — typically a fraction of a dedicated aircraft, and typically more than express freight. The decision is made on consequence: what does a day's delay cost you, and what does a lost or damaged consignment cost? Where the answer is "not much", we will say so and point you at ordinary express freight. Where the consignment genuinely justifies a person flying with it, the quotation itemises the journey so the cost is defensible.
How to brief us
The faster we understand the consignment, the faster it moves. The useful brief is: what the item is, its dimensions and weight, whether it contains batteries, liquids or anything temperature-sensitive, the collection and delivery addresses with contact names, the deadline, and any documentation the item travels with. Photographs help. With that, we confirm feasibility, the realistic delivery time and the quotation — usually in a single exchange.
The consignments we decline
Hand-carry has hard limits, and we apply them honestly. Consignments that cannot legally or safely fly in a cabin — anything classed as dangerous goods beyond cabin allowances, items too large for the overhead or an extra seat, consignments whose value demands cargo-hold security rather than a passenger seat — are declined as courier jobs and quoted as dedicated aircraft movements instead. The recommendation follows the consignment, not the other way round.
Frequently asked questions
How fast can an on-board courier deliver?
Speed is the scheduled flight timetable plus collection and delivery. On major city pairs, same-day or next-morning delivery across continents is realistic; on thinner routes we quote the honest timetable before you commit.
What can and cannot be hand-carried?
Consignments must fit cabin size and weight limits and airline security rules. Items classed as dangerous goods, large lithium batteries and some liquids face restrictions or prohibition. We check the specific consignment against the routing before confirming.
Is the consignment insured and tracked?
Custody is documented from collection to signed delivery, and you receive proactive updates at each stage. Insurance arrangements are confirmed at quotation to match the consignment's value.
Can a courier carry medical consignments?
Yes, within cabin and airline rules — samples, medicines and devices regularly travel this way. Temperature-controlled consignments use qualified packaging planned for the journey time.
When should we charter an aircraft instead?
When the consignment is too large or restricted for the cabin, when no scheduled flight protects the deadline, or when cancellation risk is unacceptable. We assess the real timetable and recommend honestly.
What does an on-board courier cost?
Each mission is quoted individually on routing, timing and the consignment's handling requirements. We provide a written, itemised quotation and do not publish generic prices.
To arrange a hand-carry, send the consignment description, dimensions, collection and delivery addresses and deadline through the quote form. Related services: time-critical cargo charter, organ transport and the air cargo charter overview.