Los Angeles assignments are usually about secrecy as much as speed. Camera drives, colour graded masters, pre-release audio and unsigned production paperwork travel by hand because the studio will not put them on a network where a copy could be made. The drive is sealed, it stays in the cabin, and it is handed to a named person at a post house or a lot.
Open · United States desk
On Board Courier, Los Angeles
The production lane. Carry masters, drives and pre-release material between the Emirates and Los Angeles, escorted and never checked in.
OnBoard Courier is a United Arab Emirates company, contracted by ICSL FZE and run from Dubai. A country named on this site is a country we cover and route through, not a separate company in that country. Assignments are contracted under UAE law, and the terms are published in full under legal and policies.
GatewayLAX · Los Angeles
Distance from Dubai≈13,400 km
Air time16h 24m
CarriersEmirates
EngagementFreelance · per assignment
Fee per assignmentAED 900 to 2,600
Apply for this position
Applying is free. Freelance · self-employed ·
posted 7 September 2026 · open until 7 March 2027
What the work pays
The fee for an assignment is agreed with you in writing before you accept it. These are the figures the site publishes, and what the desk covers on top of them.
Top published feeAED 2,000The highest fee the site shows for a single assignment: sealed medical samples in a cooled case, Dubai to Singapore.
Published band, per assignmentAED 900 to 2,600A document pouch to London is AED 1,200, an aircraft part to Frankfurt AED 1,500, an escorted watch on the Berlin lane AED 1,800.
What the flight costs youAED 0The desk books and pays the ticket, the transfers and, where the routing needs it, the hotel. A courier never fronts the fare.
The one payment you makeAED 199, returnedThe Academy, paid once. It comes back in full on top of the fee for your first completed assignment. Applying itself is free.
Fees vary with the lane, the notice, the waiting time and whether the return is immediate, so the desk quotes each assignment individually rather than pretending one number fits every trip. You are self-employed and there is no minimum: accept or decline whatever you like, and declining costs you nothing. Earnings are paid per delivery by bank transfer, they appear in your courier portal, and you can request a payout once the balance reaches AED 200. Apply and see the flight board.
You fly as a passengerOne consignment in the cabin, one handover against signature. No warehouse, no van, no round.
The desk books and pays the ticketFlight, transfers and, where the routing needs it, a hotel are booked before you leave for the airport.
Paid per assignmentA fee agreed in writing before you accept, paid to your bank account after the signature. Applying is free.
How to start, in four steps
1
Apply once
One application covers every country desk. Tell us which passports you hold and where you can travel.
2
Verification and the Academy
Identity and background check, then a short course on customs, handovers and chain of custody.
3
Your first offer
The desk sends the routing, the dates and the fee in writing. You accept or decline, nothing is automatic.
4
Fly, hand over, get paid
Collect, board, clear customs in person, hand over against signature, and the fee is paid to your account.
The assignment
Emirates flies the Gulf to Los Angeles nonstop, a little over sixteen hours, and the westbound crossing means you arrive on the same date and often at an earlier hour than you departed. Handovers are spread from Burbank and Hollywood to Culver City and Santa Monica, so the ground leg is a real part of the assignment.
Why this lane exists
Abu Dhabi and Dubai have spent a decade becoming production locations, with studio infrastructure, a rebate programme and a steady flow of international shoots. What is shot in the Emirates is finished in California, and the material that moves between them is the single most confidential asset a production has.
The other half is aerospace and apparel. Southern California builds satellites, launch hardware and specialist components, and it designs clothing that is manufactured and distributed through the Gulf. Both trades produce small, urgent, high value pieces on a calendar that does not move.
What you would be carrying
- Camera drives, graded masters and pre-release material under a studio confidentiality regime
- Unsigned production contracts and clearance paperwork with a delivery date
- Aerospace and satellite components with their certification documents
- Apparel prototypes and fit samples ahead of a fixed showroom date
The clock
Los Angeles is eleven hours behind the UAE in summer and twelve in winter, so you land earlier in the day than you left, with an entire California working day in front of you.
Airports you would fly into
| IATA | City | Airport | From Dubai |
|---|---|---|---|
| LAX | Los Angeles | Los Angeles International | ≈13,400 km |
The engagement, and who we are looking for
The engagement
- Type: freelance, self-employed. You are an independent courier accepting individual assignments, not an employee, and you decide which ones you take.
- Where it runs: the assignment runs between the United Arab Emirates and Los Angeles, the United States, with the return leg agreed per mission.
- Hours: variable. An assignment is a single trip, not a shift or a roster.
- How you are paid: a fee per completed assignment, agreed in writing before you accept it. The fees published on this site run from AED 1,200 for a document pouch to AED 2,000 for a cooled medical consignment, and the figure for your assignment reflects the lane, the notice, the waiting time and whether the return is immediate.
- What the desk pays: the flight, the transfers and, where the routing needs it, the hotel. A courier never pays for the ticket and never fronts the fare.
- Applying is free. No payment is required to apply, to be screened or to be placed on the courier list. The Academy costs AED 199, paid once, and is returned in full on top of the fee for your first completed assignment. It is the only payment a courier ever makes to us.
What we look for
- A passport with comfortable remaining validity and free pages, and the right to enter the United States. The desk checks the visa position for your specific passport before any assignment is offered.
- A clean background check and a willingness to be verified. Couriers carry other people’s property.
- Availability at short notice. Most assignments are confirmed hours, not days, before departure.
- Presentable, calm and articulate at a customs counter. The consignment is only as smooth as the person carrying it.
- A working phone, reachable on the number you gave us, for the whole assignment.
What we provide
- The ticket. Always. A courier never pays for the flight and never fronts the fare.
- The paperwork, prepared before you reach the airport, and a named contact at the desk on both ends.
- A briefing on the consignment, the consignee and what the customs position at the far end looks like.
- A fee per completed assignment, agreed with you in advance and paid by bank transfer after the handover.
Questions about courier work to and from Los Angeles
01What are the confidentiality rules on media assignments?
Strict and simple. You do not open the case, you do not connect anything to anything, you do not photograph it, and you do not name the production. Studios audit this and the desk will not send a courier who treats it casually.
02Can a drive go in the hold if the cabin is full?
No. Escorted material never leaves you, and if a gate agent asks to check your bag you say it cannot be checked and call the desk. That instruction is in the briefing, in writing, before you fly.
03Do I need a US visa?
Yes, in almost every case. You need a valid visa or an approved authorisation for the passport you hold, and the desk checks that position before an assignment is offered.
04How long is the stay?
At least one night. A sixteen hour sector and a handover somewhere in the Los Angeles basin do not fit into a same day turn, and the hotel and return are booked before you leave.
05How is my fee agreed?
The desk sends the routing, the timing and the fee for that specific assignment in writing. You accept or decline it. Nothing is deducted or charged without your written agreement.
Apply to fly the Los Angeles lane
One form, a short screening call, and you are on the list the desk calls when a master has to reach a Los Angeles post house untouched.
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