Literally and metaphorically, luggage is the freight of air travel.
It’s not just fees that deter fliers from checking bags; it’s the time and hassle involved in reclaiming them as well as the risk they’ll be lost, damaged or delayed. Nearly seven in 1,000 airline passengers globally experience mishandled bags, according to SITA, an airline technology provider.
Promising to reduce travel friction, luggage-shipping services have flourished in recent years, offering unburdened transit and the delight of finding your bags waiting for you in your destination.
The convenience often comes at a cost above a checked-bag fee. So, we wondered, is it worth it?
How Shipping Works
Shippable luggage ranges from carry-on bags to large items like golf clubs, skis, bikes, trunks and cardboard boxes.
Travelers begin the process by scheduling a shipment online with details about the size and weight of the bag, and pickup and delivery dates, which will influence the price. The bigger the bag and the faster the shipment, the higher the cost. (Most companies advise scheduling a shipment to arrive one business day before you do.)
Shipping distance and how you initiate the transit may also affect the price. Services such as Lugless and Ship&Play allow you to drop off your items at a shipment center like FedEx or UPS to save a little money, though pickup is also available.
More premium offerings like Luggage Forward and Luggage Free specialize in door-to-door service, collecting bags from private addresses. Delivery destinations can include homes, hotels and offices. Most shipping services recommend that travelers let their hotels know about the shipment and its expected arrival date.
Prices vary widely. On Luggage Free, I priced a carry-on-size bag shipped from a New York hotel to a San Francisco hotel at $94.99; a full-size suitcase would have cost $114.99. Standard golf clubs were $109.99, skis $139.99 and a bike $209.99.
By comparison, airline fees for a checked bag start around $35 and often include standard sports equipment like skis and golf clubs.
The same carry-on and full-size bags shipped with another luggage specialist, ShipGo, were about $70 and $80. On the same route, ShipGo priced a golf bag from about $80, skis from $95 and a bike from $180.
Lugless came in cheapest, with the smallest suitcase starting at $38, if given a week to make the delivery.
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 ship bags since 2011. She said she usually 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,” Ms. Brooks said.
Stephanie Fisher, an agent in Key Largo, Fla., for Brickell Travel, has sent clients’ bags with Luggage Free, particularly on complicated trips. In one case, a client traveled to Paris and then on to a fishing trip in Spain that required different wardrobes.
“If they have varied itineraries, it can be easier to ship bags and switch out gear,” Ms. Fisher said.
Planning ahead is key. Shipping companies require travelers to have their bags ready well in advance of travel to get the best rates.
Jeremy Abelson, who works in finance, regularly uses Ship&Play for work trips. “You can save half an hour to 45 minutes on the way out of the airport because you don’t have to go to baggage claim,” he said.
But packing in advance has made it harder for the Denver father of four to use it as regularly on family trips.
Price is also a deterrent. But when multiple bags are involved — many airlines charge $150 for a third bag — shipping may be the cheaper way to go.
Testing the Service
I tried on numerous occasions over several months to ship a bag and found that I usually wasn’t organized enough to get it out in time.
But for an April trip from Chicago to Aspen, Colo., I sent my ski bag ahead with Ship&Play. It was easy enough to stuff ski clothes, which I wouldn’t need until I arrived, around my skis, poles and helmet in a soft-sided case five days before its scheduled arrival (and six days before mine) to get the cheapest price. I would dedicate a carry-on to ski boots and other clothes.
The ski bag weighed under the specified limit 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 in insurance with delivery to my lodgings (in this case, my sister’s house).
I opted to drop the bag at a local FedEx store. Normally, leaving a bag with an airline doesn’t induce anxiety. But somehow abandoning such a conspicuous object behind a retail counter did.
Nonetheless, the bag arrived safely three days later, ahead of schedule, without damage.
I appreciated the convenience of not having to haul the unwieldy bag to and from the airport on the way out. But on the return, I checked it with my airline, which was free to me as a holder of the airline’s branded credit card but otherwise would have cost $40, according to an airline employee at the airport.
Paying an extra $60 to $100 for shipping seemed indulgent. But when I factored in a $50 cab ride, which I needed to help me manage the ski bag, a wheeled carry-on and backpack, compared with a $5 train fare, the equation evened out a bit.
Still, the shipping payoff depends on how much you value convenience. I might ship ahead again, especially with multiple bags or an awkward item like skis.