Checked bagged fees are getting ridiculous, and the most recent not-so-subtle 50 percent increase on Delta's second-bag fee is expensive evidence. More travelers have been using the rate calculators on FedEx.com and UPS.com to determine if shipping their bags would be more cost effective than checking them at the airport. By factoring in distance, weight and travel time, passengers can get price quotes for potentially shipping luggage to destinations.
Shipping bags means you'll need to pack about five days in advance (for the least expensive shipping options), but delivery services offer insurance for lost bags, which airlines do not.
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Will You Ship Your Luggage Next Time You Fly?
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Since I mostly fly back home to Hawaii, I know the shipping costs are higher than a $15 or $25 baggage fee. Parcel post is cheaper, but that takes too long because it ships instead of flies.
1I was complaining to my sister about this last night..I was telling her how from now on, if we want to go somehwere, we may have to ship our luggage first &then fly out there and pick it up. :T
I've been keeping my eyes peeled for a decent priced roundtrip ticket to Pensacola, FL...and I noticed that American Airlines charges $15 for the first piece of luggage to be checked in! Do they expect people to fly with no luggage whatsoever?! Don't get me started!
It's funny though because last night, I was saying it out of pure frustration..and then today, I actually thought about it...and if it's cost-effective, I'd definitely ship my luggage out first if the fees for the first bag increase..and depending on where I'm headed..
2I'll keep traveling in my RV cause I can take whatever I want and come and go as I please.
3I'm moving to Boston in a few weeks and I'm still trying to figure out what to do with some of my luggage!
4no way, it's too much of a hassle to ship the luggage first.
5I guess it just depends on the cost.
6My next flight will be my monthly flight to Chicago and I never check any luggage. It's just a weekend & everything can easily fit in a carryon bag.
7I'd think there's less chance of FedEx rifling through my bags than TSA. I don't even want to take a laptop and certainly not my iPhone now when I cross borders at least.
8I'm checking mine when I fly from Cali to Ny on Saturday. I'm flying United and the first bag is free.
9nope - i do think that it's getting excessive about the cost to take your luggage with you - but luckily i don't really pack that much so i'm ok with taking it on the plane with me, or checking the 1 bag. if they had done this a few years back when i was going to study abroad, then i would have been screwed. my suitcase at the time was SOO HEAVY that it was insane. i did end up shipping things back ahead of me, but that was more so because i shopped a lot while i was there and bought more than could fit in my suitcase on the return trip.
10I don't understand all the complaints - there is absolutely no need to check a bag if you're going somewhere for less than two weeks. Learn to pack efficiently!
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