Literally and metaphorically, luggage is the freight of air trips.
They are not just the rates that dissuade the flyers to verify the bags; It is the moment and discomfort involved in claiming them, as well as the risk of being lost, damaged or delayed. Almost seven out of every 1,000 airline passengers worldwide experience mismanagement bags, according to Sita, a technology provider from airlines.
Promising to reduce travel friction, luggage shipping services have flourished in recent years, offering a transit without rise and the delight of finding their bags waiting for you in your destination.
The convenience often has a cost above an invoiced stock rate. So, we ask ourselves, is it worth it?
How shipping works
Shippable luggage covers from handbags to large items such as golf clubs, skis, bicycles, trunks and cardboard boxes.
Travelers begin the process programming an online shipment with details about the size and weight of the bag, and the collection and delivery dates, which will influence the price. The larger the bag and the faster the shipment is, the greater the cost. (Most companies advise programming a shipment to get a business day before you).
The shipping distance and the way in which traffic starts can also affect the price. Services such as Lugless and Ship & Play allow you to leave your items in a shipping center such as Fedex or UPS to save some money, although the collection is also available.
More premium offers, such as front luggage and free luggage, specialize in door to door service, collecting private direction bags. Delivery destinations may include houses, hotels and offices. Most shipping services recommend that travelers inform their hotels about shipping and their planned arrival date.
Prices vary widely. In free luggage, I set a handbag sent from a New York hotel to a San Francisco hotel to $ 94.99; A full size suitcase would have cost $ 114.99. The standard golf clubs were $ 109.99, skis $ 139.99 and a bicycle $ 209.99.
In comparison, airline rates for a reviewed bag begin around $ 35 often include standard sports equipment such as skis and golf clubs.
The same handbags and full size sent with another luggage specialist, Shipgo, were approximately $ 70 and $ 80. On the same route, Shipgo set a price of a golf bag of approximately $ 80, skis of $ 95 and a bicycle from $ 180.
Lugless arrived cheaper, with the smallest suitcase from $ 38, if it was given a week to deliver.
Pros and cons
Travelers who use shipping services generally praise their convenience.
Sally Brooks, an actress based in New York and Los Angeles, has been using Lugless to send bags since 2011. He said that he generally pays less than $ 40 for a small case, making the service competitive with an airline.
“The less distraction and stress at the airport, the better for me,” Brooks said.
Stephanie Fisher, an agent in Key Largo, Florida, for Brickell Travel, has sent customer bags without luggage, particularly on complicated trips. In one case, a client traveled to Paris and then to a fishing trip in Spain that required different cabinets.
“If they have varied itineraries, it may be easier to send bags and change equipment,” said Fisher.
Planning in advance is key. Shipping companies require travelers to have their ready -to -travel bags to get the best rates.
Jeremy Abelson, who works in finance, regularly uses the ship and the game for work trips. “You can save half an hour at 45 minutes when you leave the airport because you don’t have to go to the luggage claim,” he said.
But packing in advance has made it difficult for the father of four children to use it regularly on family trips.
The price is also a deterrent element. But when several bags are involved (many airlines charge $ 150 for a third bag, shipping can be the cheapest path.
Try the service
I tried numerous occasions for several months to send a bag and discovered that I was generally not organized enough to get it in time.
But for a April trip from Chicago to Aspen, Colorado, I sent my ski bag with boat and game. It was quite easy to fill ski clothes, which I would not need until I arrived, around my skis, posts and helmet on a soft sides case five days before its scheduled arrival (and six days before mine) to get the cheapest price. I would dedicate hand luggage to ski boots and other clothes.
The ski bag weighed under the specified 50 pound limit for the lowest rate, $ 84.99. With taxes and rates, the total reached $ 98.97 and included up to $ 2,000 in insurance with delivery to my accommodation (in this case, my sister’s house).
I chose to drop the bag in a local Fedex store. Normally, leaving a bag with an airline does not induce anxiety. But somehow abandoning such a conspicuous object behind a retail counter.
However, the bag came safe three days later, earlier than expected, without damage.
I appreciated the convenience of not having to transport the bag difficult to drive to and from the airport when leaving. But when I returned, I checked it with my airline, which was free for me as a holder of the airline’s brand credit card, but otherwise it would have cost $ 40, according to an airline employee at the airport.
Paying $ 60 to $ 100 additional per shipment seemed indulgent. But when I had a turnover on a $ 50 taxi walk, which I needed to help me manage the ski bag, hand luggage and a backpack with wheels, compared to a $ 5 train rate, the equation matched a little.
Even so, the payment of the shipment depends on how much the convenience assess. I could send it again, especially with multiple bags or an uncomfortable article like skis.
