Stop paying the airlines to carry your bags

[IbnMardhiyah]

Nice alternative to sky-high baggage fees, depending on how far you're travelling.

...

Stop paying the airlines to carry your bags
Sick of paying luggage fees? Consider the advantages of shipping it instead

By George Hobica
Jan 20, 2010


Now that the airlines have raised, yet again, their fees for checked bags, it’s time to take another look at the alternative: shipping your bags, or better yet (if you’re staying in one place once you arrive) just the contents of your bag ahead of your arrival using economical ground shipping services.

Why deal with the airlines, when UPS Ground and FedEx Ground offer better tracking, insurance and security, can be much cheaper in some scenarios, and will actually refund your shipping fee if there's a delay or loss? No waiting in line at the airport! No pilferage! No schlepping!

Airfarewatchdog.com has looked at four domestic route scenarios (short, medium, and long haul) and compared three shipping services and two airlines (one with high bag fees, and one with low fees) to see how much you can save by not entrusting your bags to the airlines.

As you can see from the chart, depending on route and method, the cost savings achieved from shipping vs. schlepping range from little or nothing to dramatic. But as we explain, even if costs are the same, dealing with a company like FedEx can be much less stressful than with an airline.

Consider: a single 25-pound suitcase or shipment from Boston to San Francisco by FedEx Ground costs about $31 vs. $23-$25 on Delta or nothing on Southwest.

But once that suitcase weighs over 50 pounds, excess charges kick in on the airlines, even on Southwest: you’d pay $56 for a 55-lb. bag using USPS on that same Boston-San Francisco trip, but twice that on Delta, which adds an extra $90 fee each way for bags weighing over 50 pounds. Even Southwest will charge you $50 each way.

And if your bag is both heavy and oversized (larger than 61-62 linear inches), you’ll get hit with triple jeopardy on some airlines: a fee for the first bag, plus an overweight fee, plus an oversized fee. Such a bag might cost nearly $300 on Delta on a trip from Los Angeles to Seattle vs. under $40 via FedEx Ground.

Also of note: the typical 22-inch rolling suitcase weighs 9-10 lbs. and airlines will shun responsibility for what they consider “normal wear and tear” if the suitcase or its wheel mechanism is damaged in transit. If you’re staying in one place once you arrive, do you really need a suitcase at all? Put your clothes and other personal items in a sturdy box and you’ll pay ground shippers even less than the prices shown in our chart.

But even if the costs are the same airline vs. ground shipping, consider these advantages of shipping:

Better tracking: You can track your shipment online step by step. Try that with an airline.

Safer: There’s less chance of something going missing or getting damaged.

Convenience: You can breeze through the airport without waiting in line to check bags.

Responsibility: If an airline loses or delays your bag, they’ll keep your fee and play the blame game. FedEx and UPS will at least refund your shipping fees. Plus, airlines refuse to take responsibility for losing or damaging anything they consider “valuable,” such as electronics or business items. You can insure these items with the shipping services for a small additional fee.

Less schlepping: True, you have to either drop off your shipment at a post office, UPS office or store, or FedEx or Kinko’s location (or you can arrange for pick up for a small fee in some cases), but let’s face it: fighting for overhead space is no fun, and lugging luggage through mile-long airport concourses is no fun either.

Clearly, we’ve only given examples for domestic shipping, but USPS Priority Mail rates for international shipping are surprisingly competitive with the airlines’ fees for checking bags on international routes.

And even if you’re the carry-on type, shipping on your next trip may reveal the joys of not fighting for overhead space and saving yourself a shoulder injury from hoisting a heavy bag into same.

Give shipping vs. checking a try next time you fly. You may never pay bag fees again.

[source]

[ChotooMotoo]

I did that once, cost me $100. The stuff did get there on time and intact unlike my much cheaper baggage which was a week late and damaged. Pro's and con's.

[IbnMardhiyah]

Well, I'm guessing that's why they suggest doing your homework first and comparing prices in advance? I dunno, I'm just dumb.

[ChotooMotoo]

IbnMardhiyah said

Well, I'm guessing that's why they suggest doing your homework first and comparing prices in advance? I dunno, I'm just dumb.

You're not dumb. I was shipping internationally, and I shipped it as cheaply and securely as possible. We learned about shipping the hard way when my sister was in Taiwan. My mom sent her some clothes the absolute cheapest way she could find and when my sister finally got her clothes 3 months later, the most important items were missing.

So basically my post was illustrating that you might pay $100 to ship all your stuff internationally (standard USPS priority international shipping for the size box I was sending), but if you ship it at that price inshallah you will get everything intact and on time. Or you could just pay the airline the baggage fee for your stuff, they lose your suitcase and by the time you get it back, it's so damaged you can't use it for your return flight. International travel FTW :

of course this only works if you're going to visit family abroad (or domestically) you can't ship stuff to your vacation destination. I don't see how it would work to ship your stuff in advance for something like Umrah or your dream vacation in the Caribbean.

[IbnMardhiyah]

Soon it'll probably be cheaper to pay a hotel at each of your favorite getaway spots to just store your vacation clothes. Kinda like timeshares. Then you don't have to worry about baggage or shipping.

[ChotooMotoo]

IbnMardhiyah said

Soon it'll probably be cheaper to pay a hotel at each of your favorite getaway spots to just store your vacation clothes. Kinda like timeshares. Then you don't have to worry about baggage or shipping.

the way things are going.... and when that DOES happen, I forsee the airlines implementing pay-to-use toilets, extra fee's for passengers weighing over 120lbs for girls and 150lbs for guys (like $10 per 10lbs over), charging for carryon's (including purses) and extra fees for laptops.

Just raise the stupid ticket prices if you're going to be that anal

[foozball]

Swa ftw!

[elizabethturner]

I was shipping internationally, and I shipped it as cheaply and securely as possible.

[IrishMuslimah]

yeah right. I dont ever check bags. I always pack all my crap into carry ons.

[Blue_Phoenix]

That would be the way to do it.

[onetspvanilla]

ughhh i hate checking in baggage, especially for vacations because it would be a pain to go back to the airport to reclaim it. husband and i went to europe once and only did carryons.. one rolling carryon each and our messenger bags. it was a good move in hindsight, because we found out when we landed that half of the passangers on our flight had delayed/lost luggage.

[Jaysh]

As a desi, I will always check in as many bags as possible. However, as a desi, I must save every dollar. I am now confused.

[Shivermetimbers]

onetspvanilla said

husband and i went to europe once and only did carryons.. one rolling carryon each and our messenger bags.

you flew internationally and you only took carryons? subhanAllah. i'm truly amazed.

we take a two hour flight to somewhere in the states for the weekend and we take one huge suitcase each + carryons + laptop bags. the price of checking in bags isn't too bad but the price for overweight baggage is ridiculous. on our last trip we paid approx 200 bucks for all our luggage. usually we have to open our bags at the airport and distribute the weight so they meet the weight requirements. every single time. on the way to we were able to do it but on the way back there was no point in even trying. then sometimes we have to pay for extra luggage too. we like to check in ALL our baggageso we don't have to go through the hassle of stowing it in the overhead bins where there's usually no space nowadays. then there's everyone trying to shove eachother to get to their bags first. i don't even know what we'll do when i go home (to canada) for a month or so. we're seriously considering taking a huge van, otherwise we'll easily end up paying a grand. and we swore to never be like our parents. though, our parents would probably try to convince the airline staff to let them take full sized suitcases on the plane.

[onetspvanilla]

Shivermetimbers said

you flew internationally and you only took carryons? subhanAllah. i'm truly amazed.

haha, yeah it was tricky at first but i did things like only bring one pair of jeans (wore on the plane), one pair of nice black pants, one skirt and 5-6 nice tops that i could mix and match and one pair of walking shoes (plane) and one pair of heels, a purse and a few hijabs. my husband did something similar. we also had the option to have our laundry done, so we took advantage of that around midweek. honestly, if i were visiting my parents or something, i would check in luggage and if it were delayed at least i wouldn't be too inconvenienced. but the risk of having delay/lost luggage in europe (where we would be in different cities) was just too much of a potential pain in the ass to leave it up to luck. and honestly it was kind of liberating to not have so much stuff.

we take a two hour flight to somewhere in the states for the weekend and we take one huge suitcase each + carryons + laptop bags. the price of checking in bags isn't too bad but the price for overweight baggage is ridiculous. on our last trip we paid approx 200 bucks for all our luggage. usually we have to open our bags at the airport and distribute the weight so they meet the weight requirements. every single time. on the way to we were able to do it but on the way back there was no point in even trying. then sometimes we have to pay for extra luggage too. we like to check in ALL our baggageso we don't have to go through the hassle of stowing it in the overhead bins where there's usually no space nowadays. then there's everyone trying to shove eachother to get to their bags first. i don't even know what we'll do when i go home (to canada) for a month or so. we're seriously considering taking a huge van, otherwise we'll easily end up paying a grand. and we swore to never be like our parents. though, our parents would probably try to convince the airline staff to let them take full sized suitcases on the plane.

when we visit my parents with the baby, we travel like that too. we check in our all our suitcases and only have the baby in the baby carrier and a backpack. having carry-on luggage with kids is such a drag. i can't wait till he can have his own little mini-carryon! then i won't find peek-a-boo flip books at the bottom of my purse with a crushed cheerios.