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A blue label reading PAR AVION, marking an item for carriage by air.
Also known as: Par avion label, Airmail label, Airmail sticker
An airmail etiquette is the small blue label reading PAR AVION — and usually a second language beneath — applied to mail to be carried by air. French is on it because the Universal Postal Union's working language is French, not because the item is going to France. The label is now largely obsolete on international mail, since most of it goes by air by default, which is why finding one usually means finding an old envelope.
Marks an item for carriage by air, and carries French because French is the working language of the Universal Postal Union rather than because the item is bound for France.
Contexts: History, Public information
Is largely obsolete on international mail, most of which now travels by air as a matter of course, so a modern envelope carrying one is being marked for a service that is no longer optional.
From 1918; largely superseded from the late twentieth century · Contexts: History, Public information
A small rectangular label bearing two words in capitals, printed in dark ink on a plain background with a ruled border.
Both are markings applied to an item in transit.