[Infowarrior] - Heading Off a Headache: Have Bags Shipped

[Richard Forno]

September 3, 2006
Practical Traveler
Heading Off a Headache: Have Bags Shipped
By MICHELLE HIGGINS
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/03/travel/03pracbags.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&re
f=travel?8dpc&pagewanted=print

AS travelers adapt to the inconvenience of climbing into airplane cabins
without their makeup, toothpaste and mocha lattes close at hand, they are
also discovering another consequence of the new security rules: more time
lost to the rituals of checked bags.

Not only are people who once took pride in packing everything for a trip
into a single carry-on suddenly waiting at baggage carousels, but also,
because of the increased number of bags being checked, airline
luggage-handling systems are being stretched to their limits.

To comply with the ban against carrying liquids and gels on board, Steve
Mandel of Parsippany, N.J., packed his toiletries in his bag for a recent
Continental flight from Newark to Dayton, Ohio, and checked it. Waiting for
his little bag to arrive at the luggage carousel added about 30 minutes on
the way out and nearly 40 minutes on the way back for a flight of two hours
or so. And that was in addition to the time spent checking the bag before
takeoff.

³All because I had toothpaste, after-shave lotion and shaving cream,² said
Mr. Mandel, who flies often for business. Those extra minutes were enough so
that he is now considering avoiding air travel altogether when he can. ³I
can drive to Boston in five hours,² he said, citing one of his business
destinations. If he flies, ³It¹s four hours by the time I get there and get
everything, and I¹d still have to rent a car and drive someplace.²

Although security lines have mostly shrunk back to normal levels, lines at
airport check-in counters have lengthened. And though the coming of fall
means fewer leisure travelers checking luggage, business travelers are
making up for that by checking what would normally be carry-on bags rather
than leaving toiletries behind. Airlines and airports continue to report
anywhere from 10 to 30 percent increases in checked luggage, though the
immediate surge in checked bags has subsided from 50 percent increases in
the days just after the new carry-on restrictions were put into effect.

After years of staffing cutbacks, the airlines appear ill prepared to handle
the influx of bags. The International Association of Machinists and
Aerospace Workers, which represents bag handlers, ground workers and other
airline employees, said it had lost about 43,000 members because of airline
cutbacks since Sept. 11, 2001.

So far, some airlines are having baggage handlers work overtime or are
asking other employees like gate agents and ramp workers to pitch in. But if
the amount of checked luggage doesn¹t subside, they will have to consider
hiring extra workers.

Besides greater capacity, there¹s the continuing problem of making sure all
those bags get where they are supposed to go.

³Now is the worst time to check a bag,² said Joe Brancatelli, the publisher
of the subscription travel Web site www.Joesentme.com. ³The system was
breaking down before. Mishandled baggage numbers have been spiking.²

The longer wait times to check in and retrieve bags are the latest addition
to increasing inconveniences and reduced services on commercial flights in
recent years ‹ some attributable to increased security, but many others to
cost cuts in an era of cutthroat competition. For most travelers, the
tipping point that makes air travel something to be avoided altogether is
probably far off. But inevitably, people will look for ways to escape the
extra wait.

For those who don¹t mind paying for convenience, companies with names like
Luggage Forward and Virtual Bellhop will pick up and deliver bags to a
destination, bypassing the airline baggage system altogether. Prices vary
depending on a bag¹s weight, destination and shipping time. Luggage Forward
charges $103, for example, to ship a medium-size bag weighing up to 40
pounds from New York to Los Angeles in five days. Overnight delivery costs
$201.

Other companies let customers drop off their suitcases at check-in centers
far from the airport. Baggage Airline Guest Services in Orlando, or Bags
Inc. for short, has agreements with the major airlines to allow passengers
to print boarding passes, check in and drop off their luggage for domestic
flights at a variety of locations including the Disney resorts and hotels in
Orlando. The price is $10 a person, and the service cuts time only on the
trip out. Go to www.aa.com/aadvanceBagCheck for a list of participating
hotels and cruise lines.

HYATT Hotels is working with Bags Inc. to establish drop-off stations in its
hotels in Denver, Seattle, San Diego, Boston, Miami, Orlando and Tampa by
the end of the year. Fliers don¹t have to be staying at one of the hotels to
use the service.

Bags Inc. said using its service won¹t increase the odds that a bag would be
lost, even though more people may be handling it, because the company has
direct access to airline reservation systems and typically delivers bags to
airports at times when crowds are diminished.

Then there¹s the option of not taking toiletries at all. Travelers who
decide to pick up their cologne or nail polish after landing can log onto
www2.bcbsmo.com/pharmacy_finder/PharmacyFinder.asp to find stores by zip
code.

And many hotels, including the Omni chain and Wyndham, have begun stocking
extra toiletries for customers who arrive without supplies. The Ritz-Carlton
Hotel Company has reinstituted its Luggageless Travel program, a laundry and
storage service for guests staying at the same hotel four or more times a
month.

For passengers whose major concern is avoiding lost bags, picking up a
sample-size tube of Colgate at the destination is likely to be far more
attractive than checking a bag. In London, in the days following the strict
new security rules amid the chaos of canceled flights and stranded
passengers, tens of thousands of bags were reportedly misplaced. In the
United States, mishandled baggage complaints were growing before the latest
terror threat emerged, increasing to 6.04 for every 1,000 passengers last
year from 4.91 in 2004, according to the Department of Transportation.

After her suitcase didn¹t arrive on a trip from her home city, Houston, to
Fort Myers, Fla., last month, Ava Jean Mears, 79, had to borrow something to
sleep in from a friend she was visiting. ³I saw them load my suitcase onto
the flight,² said Ms. Mears, who spotted her bright blue bag as she watched
the baggage handlers from her window seat on AirTran. ³I knew it was going
somewhere. I don¹t know what happened to it.²

Fortunately, AirTran quickly corrected its mistake. Ms. Mears¹s bag was
found and delivered to her friend¹s doorstep in Naples, Fla., the next
morning. And she returned the borrowed nightie.