posted 08-17-2009 11:34 PM               

Basically, how does the postal system work in regards to international mail?

For example, if you were writing a letter to a cosmonaut, how does the Russian postal system handle something addressed in English, and not in the Russian alphabet? For that matter, how would it also work for Greece, China, an Arab nation, etc.?

Another question is about postage. If someone was mailing me a letter from Australia, and they pay Australian postage, how does the USPS get paid for delivering me the letter once it has arrived in the United States to my front door, or vice-versa?

posted 08-17-2009 11:53 PM               

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Originally posted by AstronautBrian:
For example, if you were writing a letter to a cosmonaut, how does the Russian postal system handle something addressed in English, and not in the Russian alphabet?

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You can reverse your question: if you were to mail a letter from Louisiana (or anywhere else for that matter) to Russia using the Russian alphabet, would the US Postal Service (or a private company) be able to read where it's supposed to go? I doubt it.

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If someone was mailing me a letter from Australia, and they pay Australian postage, how does the USPS get paid for delivering me the letter once it has arrived in the United States to my front door, or vice-versa?

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posted 08-18-2009 07:29 PM               

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Originally posted by cspg:
The same applies to private companies like Fedex (in the sense that Fedex-Australia distributes Fedex-US mail and as such Fedex-Australia doesn't get paid).

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A company like FedEx is an international for profit that gets paid one way or the other. I have heard that traditionally such carrier companies lose money in the Americas, break even in EMEA and make money in AP. Why that happens is open to conjecture. But even that may be based on where a multi-national gets a better tax break on its profits. That is just my speculation.

FedEx is the type of company that bought Flying Tigers back in the 1980s simply to take over its lucrative AP flight routes. They sold off the fleet of cargo 747s and there you go. Kind of reminds me of the movie Wall Street, but I digress.

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Kind Regards

Douglas Henry