To ship or to check? That is the luggage question

Literally and metaphorically, luggage is the freight of aerial travel.

It’s not conscionable fees that deter flyers from checking bags; it’s the clip and hassle progressive successful reclaiming them arsenic well arsenic the hazard they’ll beryllium lost, damaged oregon delayed. Nearly 7 successful 1,000 hose passengers globally acquisition mishandled bags, according to SITA, an hose technology provider.

Promising to trim travel friction, luggage-shipping services person flourished successful caller years, offering unburdened transit and the delight of uncovering your bags waiting for you astatine your destination.

The convenience often comes astatine a outgo supra a checked-bag fee. So, we wondered, is it worth it?

How shipping works

Shippable luggage ranges from carry-on bags to ample items such arsenic play clubs, skis, bikes, trunks and cardboard boxes.

Travelers statesman the process by scheduling a shipment online with details astir the size and weight of the bag, and pickup and transportation dates, which will power the price. The bigger the container and the faster the shipment, the higher the cost. (Most companies counsel scheduling a shipment to get 1 concern time earlier you do.)

Shipping region and however you initiate the transit whitethorn besides impact the price. Services such arsenic Lugless and Ship&Play let you to driblet disconnected your items astatine a shipment halfway such arsenic FedEx oregon UPS to prevention a small money, though pickup is besides available.

More premium offerings such arsenic Luggage Forward and Luggage Free specialize successful door-to-door service, collecting bags from backstage addresses. Delivery destinations tin see homes, hotels and offices. Most shipping services urge that travelers fto their hotels cognize astir the shipment and its expected accomplishment date.

Prices vary widely. On Luggage Free, I priced a carry-on-size container shipped from a New York edifice to a San Francisco edifice astatine $94.99; a full-size suitcase would person outgo $114.99. Standard play clubs were $109.99, skis $139.99 and a motorcycle $209.99.

By comparison, hose fees for a checked container start astir $35 and often see standard sports instrumentality such arsenic skis and play clubs.

The aforesaid carry-on and full-size bags shipped with different luggage specialist, ShipGo, were astir $70 and $80. On the aforesaid route, ShipGo priced a play container from astir $80, skis from $95 and a motorcycle from $180.

Lugless came successful cheapest, with the smallest suitcase starting astatine $38, if fixed a week to marque the delivery.

Pros and cons

Travelers who use shipping services mostly praise their convenience.

Sally Brooks, an histrion based successful New York and Los Angeles, has been utilizing Lugless to vessel bags since 2011. She said she usually pays little than $40 for a small case, making the work competitory with an airline.

“The little distraction and stress astatine the airport, the amended for me,” Brooks said.

Stephanie Fisher, an cause successful Key Largo, Florida, for Brickell Travel, has sent clients’ bags with Luggage Free, peculiarly connected analyzable trips. In 1 case, a lawsuit traveled to Paris and then to a sportfishing trip successful Spain that required antithetic wardrobes.

“If they person varied itineraries, it tin beryllium easier to vessel bags and switch retired gear,” Fisher said.

Planning up is key. Shipping companies necessitate travelers to person their bags acceptable well successful beforehand of travel to get the champion rates.

Jeremy Abelson, who works successful finance, regularly uses Ship&Play for work trips. “You tin prevention fractional an hr to 45 minutes connected the way retired of the airdrome due to the fact that you don’t person to spell to baggage claim,” helium said.

But packing successful beforehand has made it harder for the Denver begetter of 4 to use it arsenic regularly connected household trips.

Price is besides a deterrent. But when aggregate bags are progressive – galore airlines complaint $150 for a third container – shipping whitethorn beryllium the cheaper way to go.

Testing the service

I tried connected galore occasions implicit respective months to vessel a container and recovered that I usually wasn’t organized capable to get it retired successful time.

But for an April trip from Chicago to Aspen, Colorado, I sent my σκι container up with Ship&Play. It was casual capable to stuff σκι clothes, which I wouldn’t request until I arrived, astir my skis, poles and helmet successful a soft-sided lawsuit 5 days earlier its scheduled accomplishment (and six days earlier mine) to get the cheapest price. I would dedicate a carry-on to σκι boots and different clothes.

The σκι container weighed under the specified bounds of 50 pounds for the lowest rate, $84.99. With taxes and fees, the total came to $98.97 and included up to $2,000 successful security with transportation to my lodgings – successful this case, my sister’s house.

I opted to driblet the container astatine a section FedEx store. Normally, leaving a container with an hose doesn’t induce anxiety. But somehow abandoning such a conspicuous entity down a retail antagonistic did.

Nonetheless, the container arrived safely three days later, up of schedule, without damage.

I appreciated the convenience of not having to haul the unwieldy container to and from the airdrome connected the way out. But connected the return, I checked it with my airline, which was escaped to maine arsenic a holder of the airline’s branded recognition paper but different would person outgo $40, according to an hose worker astatine the airport.

Paying an other $60 to $100 for shipping seemed indulgent. But when I factored successful a $50 cab ride, which I needed to assistance maine negociate the σκι bag, a wheeled carry-on and backpack, compared with a $5 train fare, the equation evened retired a bit.

Still, the shipping payoff depends connected however overmuch you value convenience. I mightiness vessel up again, particularly with aggregate bags oregon an awkward point such arsenic skis.

This nonfiction primitively appeared successful The New York Times.