Shipping in lieu of packing… a better alternative?
Posted by: in Companies Competitive StrategyFiled under: Products and services, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, FedEx Corp (FDX), United Parcel’B’ (UPS), UAL Corp (UAUA), Small business
With airline traffic steadily increasing, more and more of us are faced with the same question; How in the world am I going to fit all these things in our luggage? Maybe it is time to start thinking outside of the box, and instead of packing all our things, maybe we should just start to take into account sending our belongs ahead of time and stop worrying about packing all of our things?
As I read Joe Brancatelli’s (portfolio.com) article discussing airline baggage, I couldn’t help think back to December when my girlfriend had her bags lost for over a week on a trip from Europe back to the states for Christmas. Inside this luggage we’d all her clothes, as well as all of my family’s Christmas presents. Since she was flying into the says on Christmas Eve, and the airline lost her bags for a week, we had no presents to give out on Christmas, and by the time they showed up, on New Years Eve, the Christmas magic was pretty much lost.
As we examined last week, airline delays last year were near an all time high, but as I mentioned in my article, the one thing that bothers me more than being late, is arriving without my luggage. While lost baggage rates stayed pretty steady last year, with 9 out of 1,000 passengers filing lost baggage claims, there are other reasons why we might should think about shipping instead of packing in the future.
For one, you’ve to worry about paying fees for having luggage in excess of airline guidelines. Returning to Europe after Christmas I felt the pain of that rule. I won’t mention the airline name, but let’s just state that they’d a 50 pound per bag rule, which I think is probably pretty uniform these days with major airlines. We’d 4 bags total, with two bags being over the limit. The result? $125 fee! I was definitely kicking myself for loading up on English books while I was home (which I still have yet to open)!
The point? For $125 I probably could have just shipped the extra baggage and had a much greater possibility of the articles actually making to my place on time. Not only will shipping your baggage ahead of time possibly save you money, it also has the added beauty of freeing you from having to lug all those heavy bags around with you as you travel.
On some airlines not only do you face the chance of extra fees for overweight bags, but you also have to deal with fees for taking more than two check-in bags. If you travel airlines that permit more than two check-ins, consider yourself lucky. Soon, passengers that are allowed two check-in bags may be part of the lucky crowd. Last week, United Airlines, UAL Corp (NASDAQ: UAUA) went so far as to lower the number of bags you’re granted to check from two down to one. Now, if you want to check a second bag, be ready to add $25 onto the cost of your flight. I have to say, United is definitely in my “no fly” zone from now on.
OK, so enough about the reasons why we should considering shipping our luggage, what are our options?
There are the usual names, FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS), which offer affordable pricing and a solid reputation for their services. But if you want something a tiny more personal, Mr. Brancatelli also points out that there are many new companies that specialize just in shipping luggage. These include Luggage Forward, Sports Express, Luggage Concierge, and The Luggage Club.
While FedEx and UPS typically come with a smaller price tag, some traveler like to use the luggage specialists because they feel they’ve a more personal connection with someone from the company when they need assistance. Brancatelli cites the case of airline traveler Andy Abramson, who is a fan of Luggage Forward, and says that they make it very simple for him in the event of last minute itinerary changes.
I, personally, have never shipped my luggage. I have lost luggage several times, and definitely fell victim to fees for over packing my luggage, which I’ve usually just taken in stride, and promised myself that I would be more careful the next time i packed up my things. But, for sure, the next time I get ready to take a trip I know I’ll definitely be looking into all my options.
What about you, our readers? Are you a frequent flier? Have you had bad experiences with your luggage in the past, and will you begin to consider shipping in lieu of lugging your bags on your upcoming flights?
~ Here is another good article on traveling by Mr. Brancatelli, “What I Learned on the Road This Year” ~
Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last four years working as an analyst for the on the web investment advisory service Investor’s Observer.
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