Remote baggage check-in services cost extra, but come with extras
Harriet Baskas, USA TODAY, 5/7/2008 (excerpted)
It's a fair bet that, for the foreseeable future, there are going to be longer-than-usual lines at curbside check-in kiosks and lobby ticket counters as travelers, airline personnel, and skycaps get accustomed to the new fees most airlines are now charging for checking more than one bag.
Want to avoid the long lines and, perhaps, the extra fees?
You have a few workaround options: You can travel with just a carry-on bag or pay dearly to send your luggage separately via FedEx, UPS or a specialty luggage-shipping service. Or you can pay a smaller fee of between $5 and $20 on top of the second bag fee and check-in your bags someplace other than the airport.
In an increasing number of cities, travelers can check their bags at remote sites that include hotel lobbies, convention centers, cruise ships, short and long-term parking lots, and car rental facilities. There are those extra fees for using these services, but many travelers are finding that the convenience outweighs the cost. And, for a while at least, travelers on one airline will be able to skip the second bag fee altogether if they use a remote baggage check-in service.
How does it work?
Remote check-in services are only available in about 20 cities and for some airlines, but where offered, here's how the service works:
A traveler flying on a participating carrier out of a participating airport can go to an off-airport location several hours in advance of their flight (in some cases up to 12 hours before a flight), pay a processing fee ranging from $5 — $20 per passenger (plus any required airline-imposed extra bag fees), get a boarding pass and check their bags through to their final destination. The remote check-in services, which must be certified by the TSA, secure the bags and then take the bags to the airport to be screened and passed along to the airlines.
At McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, where the remote baggage check-in fee is $20 for two bags, four airlines are enrolled in the program: Delta, Southwest, United and US Airways. "We see it as a way to improve customer service," says Rosemary Vassiliadis, deputy director of the county department that operates McCarran. "Rather than pay to leave bags with a hotel bellman or take a chance and leave them unattended in the back room at a convention hall, travelers can use our SpeedCheck Advance program to check bags at the Venetian or Luxor hotels, the Las Vegas Convention Center, or at the McCarran Rent-A-Car Center. Then they can spend a few extra hours enjoying the city instead of standing in line at the baggage check-in line at the airport."
The same company that provides remote bag check-in services for McCarran, Bags To Go, also provides remote bag check-in at Port Everglades near Fort Lauderdale for cruise passengers flying on Southwest Airlines.
At San Francisco International Airport (SFO), travelers on a dozen airlines can check their bags in town at many Moscone Center convention events, in the airport's long-term parking facility and at the airport rental car center. Fees range from $2 to $5.
Bags, Inc., the company that provides the service at SFO, also offers remote bag check-in services at convention centers, hotels, and on cruise ships for airports in 17 other cities, including Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego, Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Washington, D.C., and Orlando. Fees range from about $10 per customer at convention centers to $15 or $20 per cruise ship passenger.
Is it worth it to pay extra?
Right now, travelers checking bags at the airport often encounter long lines during peak travel times, which can be as unpredictable as the weather. The lines will definitely get more bogged down by confusion over the new baggage fees. Some travelers will be surprised to learn that they have to pay an extra fee. Others will hold up the line while they argue about the fees, figure out how to pay the fees (cash, credit card), or wait for their fees to be tallied and processed.
[President of Bags, Inc. Craig] Mateer points out some additional advantages remote baggage check can provide for travelers: increased security and a slightly decreased chance of having an airline lose your bag. The remote check-in services work closely with the TSA, which mandates the way bags are "secured, sorted, screened and delivered to the airlines," says Mateer. So bags are monitored more closely than they'd be, for instance, by a hotel bell person who may put your bag in a "holding area" in the lobby that may be accessible to other people. And checking in your bags hours ahead of your flight, outside of peak airport check-in times, may just give an airline an increased chance of matching your bags to your flight.
And right now, while everyone is getting used to the new fees, there's an additional advantage for passengers on United Airlines who use a remote baggage check-in service. While Air Tran, American, Continental, Delta and US Airways are generally only exempting elite and full-fare fliers from paying a fee for checking a second bag, United Airlines is waiving the second bag fee for any passenger who checks their bags at a remote site in cities where the service is available. Airline spokesperson Robin Urbanski says United is studying how long it will continue to waive the fee, but for now, it's the only airline officially doing so.