Sometimes your boxes and shipments will soar 39,000 feet in the air. From the time the USPS first experimented with mail flight in 1911 to the present day, letters and parcels have been carried through the air to ensure speedy delivery for your recipients. What constitutes “air mail”? What scenarios cause the USPS to send something by air instead of by surface transportation?
Generally, Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express and First-Class Mail pieces will be shipped by air. However, these mail classes may also be shipped by ground depending on the originating and destination points—for example, if a destination is within driving distance. Postal trucks on the highway generally transport pieces that have to be shipped 500 miles away or less. For longer distances, your mail may be transported by freight railroad.
Sometimes your mailpiece may travel by a combination of air and ground. The USPS will always strive to get a mailpiece to your recipients by the fastest way possible. Parcel Select and Media Mail, which receive special discounted rates, will generally ship by surface transportation.
How does the USPS ship mailpieces by air? Rather than maintaining an expensive fleet of postal planes, your mail will generally “hitch a ride” on the airplane of a private carrier. The USPS negotiates contracts with commercial carriers to transport its mail, something it began to do in 1925. Airlines such as United Airlines and TWA (which became part of American Airlines in 2001) actually began as transporters of air mail. USPS mail is carried on both passenger and cargo planes. FedEx also provides air transportation for USPS domestic First-Class Mail, Priority Mail and Priority Express Mail, as well as some international mail.
Shipping with Stamps.com
It’s always important to remain compliant with current USPS statutes and regulations. Remember that certain hazardous items (such as aerosol cans, spray paint, rubbing alcohol or paint) cannot be shipped by air. For international mail, always fully and clearly identify the contents on your customs form. Items will also need to meet USPS packaging and marking requirements. Please also keep in mind that an individual pilot may decide to refuse mailpieces that present a potential danger to the aircraft. Refused pieces may also include unidentifiable items or shipments of live animals whose safety is threatened by temperature conditions in the air.
A detailed guide on shipping via USPS air transportation can be found here: https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c7_001.htm
You can combine the speed of a jumbo jet with the convenience of requesting a free USPS pickup by using the powerful Stamps.com platform! The free USPS pickup service is available for Priority Express Mail, Priority Mail, Priority Express Mail International, Priority Mail International and Global Express Guaranteed. In the Stamps.com software, click “USPS Pickup” from the “View History” menu on the left navigation bar of the software to start the process. Mailpieces with non-qualifying mail classes (such as First Class Mail) can be picked up as long as your pickup request includes at least one qualifying class.
Mail and Ship Anything From Home, Office, or Your Phone.
One day you may come home from work and see a barcode affixed to your curbside mailbox. You take a closer look and above the barcode it says “Managed Service Point.” Below the barcode it will show your mailing address. You also spot the United States Postal Service logo with the familiar eagle. What does this all mean?
Not to worry: if you see this barcode on your mailbox, this is a good thing! It means that your curbside mailbox is now a Managed Service Point (MSP). An initiative of the USPS, the MSP program represents an effort, using scanning technology, to ensure greater delivery consistency and accountability.
Along his or her route, the USPS carrier is required to scan MSP barcodes every day at these checkpoints with a Mobile Data Collection Device (MDCD). This ensures that service levels and punctuality can be tracked with this scan data. MDCD scanning rates also provide critical data to the USPS regarding carrier routes and traffic volumes. Even if no mail is delivered at that specific address, the carrier will still scan the MSP barcode. Managed Service Points are selected strategically from the carrier’s delivery points. With about 15 carrier routes per ZIP Code, and with each carrier’s route consisting of 500 to 700 delivery points, the MSP program provides invaluable data to the USPS about its service levels!
Make Stamps.com Work for You
Even if your residence is not designated by the USPS as a Managed Service Point, you can still transform your home or office into a center of consistent delivery and reliability. With the Stamps.com program, you can analyze your volumes and customers’ needs by using our powerful accounting features. Click on the Reports tab on the left side of your software. This tool allows you to organize your print activity, track expenses, and reconcile expenses. You can also the check the “Email Recipient” box and enter your recipient’s email address so that you can notify your customers that a package is on its way.
Click “USPS Pickup” from the “View History” menu on the left navigation bar of the software to request a free USPS pickup service. Mail will be picked up by the carrier at the regular drop-off time. This free USPS pickup service is available for Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express International, Priority Mail International, and Global Express Guaranteed. Mailpieces with non-qualifying mail classes (such as First-Class Mail) can be picked up as long as your pickup request includes at least one qualifying class.
If you need to get a package delivered quickly, you can’t beat Priority Mail Express. With overnight delivery to most locations in the U.S. and second-day delivery in outlying areas, this is the fastest USPS domestic shipping service available. The service also includes some great features such as free parcel insurance up to $100 in value, delivery signature confirmation and even a money-back guarantee if your package is not delivered on time.
Sunday and holiday delivery ($12.50 additional fee is required) is also available in many major markets—more than 12,000 ZIP codes across the country! The following list includes every ZIP code where Priority Mail Express Sunday and holiday service is available.
