ftp into remote hosts

Hi all,

Have used ftp to transfer files from remote host to localhost.
I was wondering how can I ftp into remote hosts.
for example from a unix box, connect to an external server and then ftp that file into mainframe ? I would like to avoid pulling it to unix box and then ftping to mainframe.

Your advice would be highly appreciated.

Thanks

What you probably want is to use ssh keys and the scp command.