Your package
gets a seat.

The chain never breaks

A carrier's tracking page tells you which building lost your package. Our custody log tells you which person had it, where, and at what time — because it was only ever one person.

Airport time, not app time

Six years working airline operations at LAX — TWA, Northwest, Southwest. Turn times, last-call cutoffs, which terminal actually clears security in eleven minutes at 5 p.m. That knowledge is the product.

You talk to the courier

No dispatch layer, no support tier, no case number. The voice on the phone at 4 p.m. is the one who will be standing at your door at 4:40 and at the gate by 6.

The proof travels with it

Seal number at pickup, timestamped photographs at each stage, signature and an intact-seal check at delivery. You get the file the same day — enough to satisfy a court clerk, an auditor or a client.

Priced before I move

The rate sheet is published on this page. You hear the final number on the phone before pickup, round-trip airfare quoted separately and added at cost. No fuel index, no dimensional weight, no invoice surprises.

The first mile is ours too

Most services quote from the airport and hire out the drive. Yours starts in our vehicle with our courier, with the 405 already priced into the window we gave you.

Law firms & litigation support

Wet-signature originals, closing binders, exhibits and filings that have to be in a clerk's hand before the window shuts. The custody log is written to be entered into evidence.

Healthcare, labs & device reps

Surgical instruments and implant trays to a hospital expecting them at 7 a.m., loaner kits between accounts, records under confidentiality. Specimens by prior arrangement only.

Studios & production

Camera drives and dailies off a location, cut negatives, unreleased masters, prototype props. The chain-of-custody paperwork post houses and insurers ask for, without the argument.

Fashion & retail

Sample sets to a market appointment, a lookbook to a shoot, one dress to a fitting in New York tomorrow morning. Garment bags ride on the courier's arm, not in a box.

Aerospace & manufacturing

AOG parts, tooling, first articles and the certification paperwork that has to arrive with them. When the line is stopped, the hourly cost of waiting makes a seat cheap.

Private clients & family offices

Jewelry to an appraisal, a small work of art to a gallery, passports and signed instruments between houses. Discreet, handled with care, and never left on a porch.

Ground pickup across the Los Angeles basin — from Ventura to Long Beach, Santa Monica to the Inland Empire. On-board delivery to any city with a same-day flight out of LAX, nationwide.

Hazardous materials, firearms and ammunition, controlled substances, live animals, currency and bearer instruments, and anything prohibited by the TSA or the operating airline. If you're unsure, ask before you book — it takes one phone call.

Call or send the form

Tell us the two addresses, the deadline, and roughly what it is. That's enough to start. Phone is fastest if the deadline is today.

We confirm the plan

Within fifteen minutes you get a call with the pickup window, the flight we're aiming for, and the final price including airfare. Approve it and the run is live.

Pickup and seal

The item goes into a tamper-evident bag in front of you. You watch the seal close, you get the number, and both of you sign the log. Ninety seconds at the door.

In transit

Photos land on your phone at curbside, at the gate, and on arrival. If the flight slips, you hear it from us before you'd see it on a board.

Delivery and proof

Hand-delivered to the named recipient, seal checked intact against the number, signature and photo captured. The complete custody file follows by email the same day.

• —Pickup address and a contact who will be there
• —Delivery address and the name of the person signing
• —The hard deadline — the time it must be in hand, not the time you'd like
• —A general description, approximate size and weight
• —Declared value for shipment records; coverage is the client’s responsibility
• —Building access notes: dock, gate code, badge, floor

Keep the contents description general. No case numbers, patient identifiers, client names, deal names or account numbers — not on the form, not in the notes field. We don't need them to move the item, and we'd rather they never sit in an inbox.

If a matter genuinely requires an identifier travel with the item, seal it inside the bag with the contents and tell us over the phone.

Book a run

Send it and get back to work. I call you within 15 minutes to confirm the pickup window and the final price — a person, not a dispatch queue.

How fast can you be at my door?

Ninety minutes anywhere in the basin on a rush booking, often sooner on the Westside. Standard ground pickups are scheduled inside a four-hour window. Traffic is priced in, not used as an excuse afterwards.

Do you fly with it, or ship it?

Fly with it. The courier buys a seat on the same aircraft and keeps the item in the cabin as a personal carry-on. It is never checked, never given to a counter agent, and never enters a cargo or sorting system.

How is airfare handled?

Quoted to you at cost before we book, then either paid by you directly or added to the invoice with the receipt attached. The service fee on the rate sheet is separate and never marked up against the ticket.

What if the flight is delayed or cancelled?

You hear from us first, with options: the next departure on any carrier, a reroute through a connecting hub, or a hold and re-book for the morning. The item stays sealed and with the courier throughout. We do not leave it anywhere.

Insurance & Coverage

We handle every shipment with the same care we’d give our own property. We do not carry cargo insurance. For coverage, clients should arrange shipper’s interest insurance prior to pickup. We recommend Shipsurance (shipsurance.com) — most shipments can be covered in under two minutes for a few dollars.

How do I know it wasn't opened?

The bag is numbered and tamper-evident: it cannot be opened and re-closed without visible damage. The recipient reads the number back against the one you were given at pickup. Photographs at each stage show the seal intact.

Can you carry medical specimens?

Non-hazardous diagnostic material by prior arrangement, in your packaging, when the airline permits it. Instruments, implants, loaner trays and records are routine. Anything requiring hazmat certification or active temperature control, we'll decline and say so immediately.

What won't you take?

Hazardous materials, firearms and ammunition, controlled substances, live animals, cash and bearer instruments, and anything the TSA or the operating airline prohibits. We reserve the right to inspect and to decline. Refusals happen on the phone, not at your door.

Do you fly internationally?

Domestic on-board service today. International runs are considered case by case, with lead time for customs documentation — call and we'll tell you honestly whether it's a job we should take.

Do I need an account or a contract?

No. First-time clients book the same way as everyone else and pay on completion. Firms running regular volume can set up billing terms and a standing rate — that's a conversation, not a procurement process.

What are your hours?

The phone is answered twenty-four hours. Base rates apply 08:00–18:00 Pacific on weekdays; outside that, and on weekends and holidays, a 75% surcharge applies and is shown on the estimate before you commit.

How do I pay?

We accept card, ACH, PayPal, or Venmo. For on-board runs, payment is required before we book the flight — you'll receive a secure payment link once the route and final price are confirmed by phone. Local ground runs are invoiced on completion with the custody file.

LAX Hand Carry is an independent courier service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or acting on behalf of Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles World Airports, any airport authority, or any airline. References to LAX and to specific carriers describe where and how we operate, nothing more.

Rates and the calculator on this page produce estimates, not binding offers. The price becomes firm when confirmed by phone before pickup. Cutoff times shown on the board are typical daily check-in windows for planning purposes — they are not a live flight feed, and the flight your item can actually make is confirmed with you at booking.

The custody rail above is a walkthrough of the five stages a run passes through, using sample seal numbers and elapsed times. It does not display a shipment in progress. On your run, seal numbers, photographs and timestamps are sent to you directly as each stage completes.

Delivery windows depend on commercial air service and on security screening. Weather, air traffic control, mechanical delays, cancellations and screening decisions can move a delivery. We plan for them, communicate immediately, and re-book at no additional service fee — but we cannot guarantee an airline's schedule.

All shipments are subject to TSA regulations and to the operating carrier's rules. We do not accept hazardous materials, firearms or ammunition, controlled substances, live animals, currency or bearer instruments, or any prohibited article, and we may inspect or decline any item at our discretion.

We treat every shipment as confidential and never open a sealed bag. We are not a healthcare provider, a law firm, or a records custodian, and we do not review contents. Clients with HIPAA, attorney–client or regulated-data obligations should keep identifiers sealed inside the package and off the booking form; business associate and confidentiality agreements are available on request.