US airlines / cruises: fee for service baggage / luggage delivery
May 12, 2013, 12:36 pm
#1
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US airlines / cruises: fee for service baggage / luggage delivery
The airlines have traditionally contracted with outside providers to deliver lost, misplaced or delayed baggage to people's residence, lodging, workplace, etc.
Someone got a bright idea - many US airlines now offer the service for a fee for passengers whose baggage is not misplaced or lost, for domestic USA flights. They also deliver to / from many cruise companies (sometimes under another name). Website.
Lady JDiver can not lift more than 4.4 kg / 10 lbs due to medical conditions. No way can she travel with a 22" rollaboard end place it in the overhead, or lift it to place in the trunk of a car. She will fly American Airlines (in this instance, but remember others offer a similar service).
The baggage is checked in at the counter (or landside with a Sky Cap) and specially tagged, and the passenger is given a receipt. For (in her case) $39.90 it is then retrieved from the carousel and delivered to an address within 40 miles by the service (they will deliver to 100 miles radius, but after 40 miles it costs a dollar per mile additionally), usually within 4 hours of arrival (unless it is a late evening arrival, in which case it will likely be before noon the following day).
The bag and its contents is insured to $500 per bag, so it may not be sufficient for some - homeowner / renter policy may cover the excess, but a claim against those may cause a rate increase, so additional insurance of a floater policy if one travels frequently, or perhaps one's credit card may cover excess in some circumstances.
Of course, never place unreplaceables, medical appliances, medicines one will need or valuables in a suitcase - any more than one would to that with a checked bag. (We always induce an itinerary inside the bag so it can be found when opened, another in an outside pocket, and yet another in a Magellan's retriever tag, with a secure belt arund the bag (in case it is damaged) and a TSA lock (more as a deterrent than an actual barrier) and we don't use very fancy name brands (Tumi, Gucci, etc.) as they tend to be targets of thieves.
Magellan's bag retriever tags
There's a thread on how the American Airlines version ("Bags VIP Luggage Delivery") in that forum; other airline fora may have them as well, and I am pretty sure UA, US and others now offer this.
One more bit of travel freedom - and the fee in this case seems reasonable. (They accept up to TEN bags, additional fees incurred - but the fee is in addition to a checked baggage fee the airline might charge a passenger, so be aware of this.)
Someone got a bright idea - many US airlines now offer the service for a fee for passengers whose baggage is not misplaced or lost, for domestic USA flights. They also deliver to / from many cruise companies (sometimes under another name). Website.
Lady JDiver can not lift more than 4.4 kg / 10 lbs due to medical conditions. No way can she travel with a 22" rollaboard end place it in the overhead, or lift it to place in the trunk of a car. She will fly American Airlines (in this instance, but remember others offer a similar service).
The baggage is checked in at the counter (or landside with a Sky Cap) and specially tagged, and the passenger is given a receipt. For (in her case) $39.90 it is then retrieved from the carousel and delivered to an address within 40 miles by the service (they will deliver to 100 miles radius, but after 40 miles it costs a dollar per mile additionally), usually within 4 hours of arrival (unless it is a late evening arrival, in which case it will likely be before noon the following day).
The bag and its contents is insured to $500 per bag, so it may not be sufficient for some - homeowner / renter policy may cover the excess, but a claim against those may cause a rate increase, so additional insurance of a floater policy if one travels frequently, or perhaps one's credit card may cover excess in some circumstances.
Of course, never place unreplaceables, medical appliances, medicines one will need or valuables in a suitcase - any more than one would to that with a checked bag. (We always induce an itinerary inside the bag so it can be found when opened, another in an outside pocket, and yet another in a Magellan's retriever tag, with a secure belt arund the bag (in case it is damaged) and a TSA lock (more as a deterrent than an actual barrier) and we don't use very fancy name brands (Tumi, Gucci, etc.) as they tend to be targets of thieves.
Magellan's bag retriever tags
There's a thread on how the American Airlines version ("Bags VIP Luggage Delivery") in that forum; other airline fora may have them as well, and I am pretty sure UA, US and others now offer this.
One more bit of travel freedom - and the fee in this case seems reasonable. (They accept up to TEN bags, additional fees incurred - but the fee is in addition to a checked baggage fee the airline might charge a passenger, so be aware of this.)
Last edited by JDiver; Jul 15, 2013 at 9:22 am Reason: add
Jul 12, 2013, 3:30 pm
#2
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
OK, this seems to work. Lady JDiver has a medical condition that prevents her form lifting more than 4.5 kg / 10 lbs, so we tried this service out for her trip to visit family (SMF-DFW-BDL).
We registered her bag and paid the $29.95 and got a receipt that looks like an e-ticket, and at the ticket counter she turned in her bag (TSA lock equipped red strap, Magellans baggage retriever tag with itinerary); within the hour of her landing at BDL / Hartford Springfield International Airport (her flight was delayed 1.5 hours at that) her bag was delivered to her sister's home in Somers, CT (15 mi / 25 km).
The biggest issue seems to be not all airline checkin counter people know about the service; the ticket agent checking Lady JDiver in had to consult with another agent, as he was clueless.
OTOH at BDL, the counter / ticket agents were totaly clueless, and whilst looking at Lady JDiver's receipt insisted she had to call to arrange for this service. A supervisor was called over and she also said Lady JDiver would have to call. She finally said she did not have a mobile phone to call on and they called - and were instructed by the service what to do next. It took perhaps a half-hour, and then Lady JDiver had to take her bag to the x-ray machines, where the TSA x-rayed the bag and took control of it. Fortunately, the bag had wheels, and the bag did get delivered to our home. But apparently in soem locations the airline is selling a service the employees have not been trained on yet. (We did contact American and they did reply saying they would be sure to get the proper information to the BDL ticket cpounter staff.)
We registered her bag and paid the $29.95 and got a receipt that looks like an e-ticket, and at the ticket counter she turned in her bag (TSA lock equipped red strap, Magellans baggage retriever tag with itinerary); within the hour of her landing at BDL / Hartford Springfield International Airport (her flight was delayed 1.5 hours at that) her bag was delivered to her sister's home in Somers, CT (15 mi / 25 km).
The biggest issue seems to be not all airline checkin counter people know about the service; the ticket agent checking Lady JDiver in had to consult with another agent, as he was clueless.
OTOH at BDL, the counter / ticket agents were totaly clueless, and whilst looking at Lady JDiver's receipt insisted she had to call to arrange for this service. A supervisor was called over and she also said Lady JDiver would have to call. She finally said she did not have a mobile phone to call on and they called - and were instructed by the service what to do next. It took perhaps a half-hour, and then Lady JDiver had to take her bag to the x-ray machines, where the TSA x-rayed the bag and took control of it. Fortunately, the bag had wheels, and the bag did get delivered to our home. But apparently in soem locations the airline is selling a service the employees have not been trained on yet. (We did contact American and they did reply saying they would be sure to get the proper information to the BDL ticket cpounter staff.)
Last edited by JDiver; Jul 23, 2013 at 9:56 am Reason: update