If you've ever shipped something in a hurry, then NFO is a term that you've likely heard before, because it stands for Next Flight Out. In most cases when you're shipping something any appreciable distance, NFO is going to be the fastest way to get it there. Most of the companies which offer San Francisco courier service that ship across the country will have an NFO department to help you get the fastest possible shipping times on your emergency shipments.
Next flight out means exactly what it sounds like. This means that when you place the order with your courier, they will immediately look into all the available options at your local airport in order to find which flight will get your package to its destination in the shortest amount of time possible. This type of shipping can be more expensive than some other methods, but as with most shipping, there is a relationship between cost and speed.
There are only a few situations where NFO isn't going to be your fastest possible shipping option, and those mostly relate to deliveries which are within the immediate local area. Obviously NFO doesn't apply to shipping within a city, but sometimes it is faster to deliver by ground even when delivering to a city a short ways away or within a single state. Which option is faster mostly depends on flight schedules that are available.
If you often have to ship things in a time sensitive basis, finding a good NFO courier for your company is something that you should really look into. This offers a guarantee to your clients that you are going to be able to get shipments to them in very short amounts of time, something that is becoming increasingly important in today's business environment.
In any large center there is likely going to be several couriers that offer NFO service based on their relationships with all the major airlines in the area. The practicality of NFO can be reduced somewhat if you're shipping out of a smaller center, because you may have no choice but to ship by ground to a larger location in order to gain practical air transport. However, your courier may still offer an NFO service of sorts based on the airports which are closest to them by ground with delivery times being adjusted for the time it will take to make the delivery to the airport.