Whether you are traveling for business, pleasure or education, your chances of having an enjoyable trip often come down to the little things. If not handled well, they can be a source of great inconvenience and irritation.
One notorious headache for most travelers is luggage. What items do you need? How much should you carry? Knowing that airlines have limits on baggage and levy a surcharge for exceeding this, luggage shipping can be particularly attractive. The following are some of the major reasons why you should consider shipping luggage next time you travel.
Avoid Airline Baggage Fees
If you are flying and intend to carry your luggage with you, one major decision you have to make is what to pack and what to leave behind. Once you have a final list of items to carry, you are good to go; but are you? Well, not quite. While you can expect to check a bag or two for free on international flights, many airlines charge for checked bags on domestic flights.
In addition, if your luggage is overweight or oversized, expect to pay extra. Luggage shipping will cost you (sometimes not much different from checking in the bags at the airport) but the logistical efficiencies makes it a more than viable alternative.
Better Success Rate than Airlines
Every traveler has a horror story or two on lost luggage. It’s frustrating to learn that your luggage has disappeared somewhere in Amsterdam just as you arrive for a key business meeting in San Francisco. It’s true that majority of travelers will see their luggage arrive at their desired destination but this is little consolation.
Whereas the incident rate of mishandled bags has been on a steady decline, there are still 6.5 bags mishandled for every one thousand passengers. Luggage shipping companies have a higher success rate than airlines when it comes to delivering your baggage. They provide tracking codes that ensure you know where your items are at any given time.
Save Time Spent at Airport
The pre-flight procedure involves queuing up to offload your bags. When you eventually arrive at your flight’s destination, you have to hang around the baggage carousel as you wait to spot your bag.
If you are traveling with the kids, these processes not only eat into your travel time but also stretch your ability to multitask as you keep one eye on the children. Shipping the luggage removes these obstacles. The bags can be picked and delivered door-to-door.
Forces Early Packing
When you use a luggage shipping service, your bags will usually be shipped days or weeks before you travel. This means you must start packing early to make sure all the luggage is ready in time.
Early packing is advantageous because anything you forgot to pack can be carried with you later on as part of your flight luggage. In essence, you get two shots to make sure nothing vital is left behind.
Reimbursement
The airline industry is one of the most disliked industries. Most people love to fly so this loathing can be hard to understand at first—until you lose your bags. Airlines will lose or delay your bag but still insist on keeping the baggage fee while playing the evasive blame game.
In addition, airlines will be reluctant to take responsibility for damaging or losing ‘valuable’ items such as electronics and pricey personal goods. Luggage shipping firms on the other hand will at the minimum refund the shipping fees. You can also insure your goods at a small extra fee.
We conclude this with a tip: you don’t have to ship everything you think you’ll need. Consider cutting on your luggage costs by hiring equipment at the place you are going to. For example, if you are going skiing, it may be cheaper to rent the gear at your destination.
You’ll probably get better and newer equipment or get the chance to try out a brand you haven’t used before. Sometimes, what you need isn’t more luggage shipped but smart shipping by sending only what you cannot do without or readily substitute.
