Baggage

Take my bag, please! Delta’s Early Valet program

Baggage, Carry-ons, , ,

Delta early valet agent

Perhaps you remember a bit of news a while back that about Delta Air Lines’ test program of pre-loading some carry-on bags for passengers before flights.

The airline said the complimentary service was designed to speed up the boarding process, while some said the early gate valet program might just be testing a new optional paid service.

I had forgotten all about that trial program, so was surprised when the young man pictured above approached me at the gate at JFK airport on Saturday while I was waiting for my Seattle flight. He offered to take my bag and put it above my seat before the plane began loading.

I remembered writing a story about the program, so of course said yes – and then proceeded to pepper the young man with questions about how the trial was going.

He said while plenty of passengers loved the idea, there were some that were wary and didn’t want to be separated, even for a short while, from their bags. And sure enough, just moments after tagging my bag, giving me a valet receipt and moving on, another passenger ran up to the gate agents to report that someone was trying to scam passengers out of their bags.

“Not a scam, sir,” the agents told him. “Well, this is New York. You never know,” said the passenger, who then gave the bag valet his bag.

I also asked the gate valet how many bags per flight he pre-loaded and how he chose which passengers to offer the service to.

He said he offered the service first to elderly passengers, then to families traveling with children and then chose randomly from the passengers in the gate area.

I didn’t have any kids with me, so hoped I fell in to the “assorted” not “elderly” category.

Although not ten minutes after I gave the valet my bag, I had a brief “where’s my bag!” moment as I was collecting my things as the plane was getting ready to start loading.

When I got on the plane, there was my bag above my seat. Just as promised.

And the early gate valet service would have indeed shaved a few seconds off my seating process – had I not stopped in the aisle to take a photo.

Delta bag over seat

Hate checking bags with airlines? You have options.

Baggage, ,

Blackpool SuitcaseArrives

Hate paying to check your bag with the airline and just not confident they’ll really get it where it needs to go?

You have some other options – as I outlined in a recent story for NBC News Travel.

For standard-size bags, shipping door-to-door instead of checking a bag at the airport is rarely faster or cheaper. But it can be definitely be more reliable and convenient.

For example, United Airlines charges $25 on domestic flights to check the first 50-pound bag, $35 for the second, $150 for the third (and beyond) and usually delivers bags along with the passengers. Many other airlines charge similar amounts.

In contrast, shipping a 50-pound bag from Seattle to New York via FedEx ground will cost you about $70 and arrive in five business days. Ship one 50-pound bag door-to-door domestically with Luggage Forward and the cost will be $99 for 5-day delivery. (Pay more and the bag will arrive sooner; lighten up to no more than 25 pounds and the cost drops to $69.)

In some cases the wait and the extra cost can be worth it because you get tracking services, more reliability, and refunds in case of delays.

Shipping door-to-door instead of checking bags when traveling internationally also offers convenience and in some cases – lower rates.

On a trip from Seattle to London, for example, United and many other airlines will let you check your first 50-pound bag for free, but will charge you $100 for a second bag and $200 for a third and beyond. Bags tipping the scales at even a half-pound over 50 ring up additional $200 per-bag fees.

By comparison, Luggage Free, will charge you $5.57 per pound to ship bags door-to-door from the U.S. to the United Kingdom; in this case $278.50 for a 50-pound bag. On that same route, Luggage Forward would charge $154 for a 25-pound bag and $269 for a 50-pound bag. Both companies offer tracking services and promise to refund your fee is they don’t deliver as promised.

SendmyBag recently launched in the U.S. and charges as low as $40 to ship a bag (up to 44 pounds) domestically in 5-6 business days. The company charges $99 to ship a bag weighing up to 33 pounds door-to-door between the United States and the UK, with delivery in 2-3 business days.

Shipping a bag weighing up to 66 pounds would cost $169, so international travelers could in some cases save cash by checking one bag for free and shipping second or third bags door-to-door via SendmyBag.

And for frequent travelers who hate packing for a trip and doing laundry when it’s over, a new service called DUFL will now do that for you at a cost of $9.95 a month and $99 per trip. The service is available in the U.S. now and will launch internationally in some cities – with varying rates – on Aug. 25.

DUFL will send you a suitcase that you fill with clothing and toiletries you might want on the road, then retrieve the filled suitcase, inventory and photograph the contents and store it all away.

When you’re ready to take a trip, an app lets you choose which outfits you’d like to take along. DUFL then packs your suitcase and ships it to your hotel. When your trip is over, the suitcase and everything you’ve taken out of your ‘closet’ gets shipped back to DUFL, which cleans and presses the clothes so they’re ready to be packed in a suitcase and shipped off for your next trip.

Smithsonian offers eye-level view of Spirit of St. Louis

Aviation history, Baggage, History, Museums, , ,
Spirit of St. Louis Image by Mark Avino, Smithsonian Institution

Spirit of St. Louis Image by Mark Avino, Smithsonian Institution

The “Spirit of St. Louis” – the plane in which a 26-year-old Charles Lindbergh completed the first solo transatlantic flight in May, 1927 – is one of the most popular artifacts at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

The plane is usually suspended from the gallery ceiling, but for the next five months the plane will be on the floor at eye level while it undergoes preservation work in preparation for an updated exhibition in the museum’s central space, also known as the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall.

The last time the plane was lowered to the gallery floor was in 1992.

Spirit of St. Louis. Image by Mark Avino, Smithsonian Institution

Spirit of St. Louis. Image by Mark Avino, Smithsonian Institution

No fee to check 1st bag on Alaska Airlines – for 1 month

Baggage, , ,

alaska tag

Here’s a nice gift for travelers to kick off 2015: Alaska Airlines is waiving its $25 first-bag fee – for the month of January.

To take advantage of the offer, passengers must be a member of Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan, but anyone not yet a member can easily sign up for free online or at the airport before they check their bags.

There are some rules and conditions accompanying this offer:

The promotion is good on flights between 12:01 a.m. Jan. 1 through 11:59 p.m. Jan. 31, 2015 and will apply to Mileage Plan members and their companions if they are traveling on the same reservation.

Also, all flight miles must be credited to Alaska’s Mileage Plan to qualify.

For those who haven’t checked bags on Alaska Airlines before (or in a while), there’s another checked-baggage benefit to keep in mind: the carrier’s baggage service guarantee promises that if a checked bag doesn’t reach baggage claim within 20 minutes of the plane’s arrival at the gate, the passenger is entitled to a $25 discount for use on a future Alaska Airlines flight or 2,500 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles.

Tune-up tips for travelers

Air Fare Deals, Air Travel, Airline policies, Baggage, business travel, Carry-ons, family travel, Hotels, , , , ,

TRAVEL SUITCASES

Even the savviest traveler can use a few new tricks each year, whether on the road for business or leisure.

So here are some of the expert tips I gathered for a recent CNBC Road Warrior piece.

Fly Frugally

Before the end of the year, take inventory of your frequent flier miles. Claim credit for any missing miles and decide if you can top off—with an extra flight, hotel stay or mile-generating purchase—accounts where you are close to getting elite status perks for the following year.

When shopping for new flight reservations, sign up for fare alerts, enlist helpers such as Kayak’s price forecasting tool and remember the “24-hour reservation requirement” put into effect in January 2012 by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The rule requires carriers to hold a flight reservation for 24 hours without payment, or allow a reservation to be canceled within 24 hours without penalty if the reservation is made one week or more ahead of the flight’s departure date.

“If you see an airfare you’re comfortable with, book it,” said Kayak spokeswoman Maria Katime. You can continue your research and, if you find something better, go back and cancel.

Reasonable rental cars

When it comes to cars, reserve once you know your dates and have done some shopping, but recheck prices closer to the time of travel. “Prices can drop last-minute, depending on the actual availability of cars versus what the companies anticipate,” said travel expert Carol Pucci, who saved more than $100 with this method on the Big Island of Hawaii. “It was easy to do because I hadn’t prepaid, which is hardly ever a good idea given the chances of prices falling,” said Pucci.

To make sure a rental car company doesn’t charge you for scrapes, scratches or dings already on the car you’re issued, “take pictures of the car before you drive it away and when you return it,” said Joe Brancatelli, publisher of the business travel website Joe Sent Me.

“Rental firms are getting extremely aggressive about these charges and since the cars in the fleet are older these days than they used to be, there’s more of a chance you’ll be given a car with a ding and/or scratches,” he said.

Honing in on hotel deals

Sign up for the frequent stay program of any hotel you visit to take advantage of free perks that can include complimentary breakfast, free Wi-Fi and welcome amenities such as cheese plates and bottles of wine for even the first-time guest.

Research room rates and hotel property reviews online, but as a final step, call the hotel you’ve chosen. “Once I narrow down my hotel choice, I call the hotel to see if they have any better offers then what I see online,” said Rob Connors, assistant vice-president of marketing for National Car Rental. “Your membership in a club or association might get you an added discount, and many times hotels offer special rates for suppliers calling on nearby companies.”

It’s also a good idea to check city tourism sites for short-run, special promotions.

Some cities have destination marketing funds and packages designed to generate room sales during off-seasons. The inaugural Hotel Week LA runs from Nov. 29 to Dec. 14, and in 2015, more than 30 Manhattan properties are participating in the fourth New York Hotel Week from Jan. 3 to 18. The programs offer significant discounts rate for some of each city’s top, usually very pricey, properties.

Vancouver’s “Be Vancouver” promotion gives guests $125 American Express prepaid gift cards for bookings made by Nov. 16 for stays through Feb. 28, bringing rates in some upscale hotels down to less than $60.

“The offers coming from that program are the best we have on offer,” said Jim Mockford, general manager of the Listel Hotel. “They’re highly targeted in regards to time frame, so you have to be quick and flexible. So it’s always a good idea to put your name on the mailing list of your favorite hotels. You’ll hear about some great deals that you’ll never see anywhere else.”

Choosing travel gear

To get the best bang for your buck when shopping for travel gear “make a list of three to five ‘musts’ for your new bag and prioritize these as you do research,” said Michele Marini Pittenger, president of the Travel Goods Association.

“The manufacturer’s warranty policy can be an indicator of durability, but be sure to check the dimensions of new carry-on bags to avoid getting dinged by extra charges when flying,” she said.

When to use a travel agent

Modern online booking tools and mobile apps make it easy to research and reserve much of your own travel. But the customer services of a travel advisor who can quickly reroute and rebook you when there’s a travel snafu can come in handy.

“When it’s a trip that matters—family vacations, celebration travel, a destination you want to experience rather than ‘see’—that’s when you most need a travel advisor,” said Matthew Upchurch, chairman and CEO of Virtuoso, a network of luxury travel agencies. “Not only will they save you precious time, they can save you money with negotiated hotel benefits and extensive firsthand knowledge to ensure that you get exactly what you expect from the trip.”

Boarding the bus

“Bus travelers typically save 50 to 55 percent versus the train and 55 to 73 percent versus flying,” said Joe Schwieterman, a professor at DePaul University in Chicago and author of the Traveler’s Tradeoff study comparing intercity bus, plane and train fares across the United States.

“The ‘sweet spot’ for bus travel involves trips between 125 and 300 miles. Driving can be tedious, but air travel is often not cost effective,” he said.

When to book the bus?

“As early as possible,” said Megabus spokesman Mike Alvich. “Generally customers booking 30 to 45 days in advance will see the greatest savings, but even last-minute trip tickets are still very affordable in comparison to last-minute airline travel or even the cost of filling the gas tank of your personal vehicle.”

Smarter destination choices

You may not have much choice where business trips take you, but you can save money on leisure trips and avoid crowds by heading for South Africa, Shanghai, Uruguay, Portugal or some of the other “best-value” destinations on Lonely Planet’s Best Travel 2015 list.

Choosing “almost-as-good” alternatives to classic experiences in more expensive cities can also save cash.

“European cities are stuffed full of amazing historic buildings and churches that can be seen and explored for free without the crowds of big-name things,” said Lonely Planet’s editorial director, Tom Hall. “Gorilla trekking might be an unforgettable experience in East Africa, but looking out for chimpanzees and smaller primates can be much more fun and is certainly easier on the wallet.”

Test drive Vancouver Airport’s new baggage carts

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Airport baggage carts can cost a bundle to rent for that short trip from your car to the terminal or from bag claim out to the curb.

Some airports offer them for free in their international terminal areas while a few, including Vancouver International Airport, make them available for free terminal-wide.

Here’s a fun video, done in the style of an automobile advertisement, touting YVR’s 3000 new and improved luggage carts.

Makes me want to go for a test drive…

Gatwick Airport’s baggage woes

Airports, Baggage,

Blackpool SuitcaseArrives

London’s Gatwick Airport is promising to help unload and move luggage and deliver checked baggage to homes for free in hopes of avoiding a re-run of last weekend, when a shortage of handlers reportedly left some passengers waiting four hours to be re-united with their bags during one of Britain’s busiest air travel periods.

Airport officials blame the bag delays on Swissport UK, which provides baggage handling services for many airlines.

In a statement, Gatwick said Swissport failed to meet service standards set by the airport and “[a]lthough bags are being delivered on time for 95% of flights, this is not good enough.”

In its apology statement, Swissport said it hopes to minimize inconvenience that might occur “during any times of future schedule disruption.”

 

(My ‘quick bit’ on Gatwick Airport’s baggage woes first appeared on NBC News Travel in a slightly different form.)

Oregon & Washington wine flies free on Alaska Airlines

Baggage, , , ,

Wine

How’s this for the airline/airport amenity of the week?

Oregon’s wineries and wine-growing regions have become popular destinations for wine-loving travelers, but the cost of taking a case of wine on the airplane deters many people from buying more than the bottle or two they can tuck into their checked suitcase.

But Alaska Airlines and the Oregon Wine Board have teamed up once again for the Oregon Wine Flies Free program.

Starting May 1 passengers on domestic Alaska Airlines flights departing from Eugene, Medford, Portland and Redmond in Oregon and from Walla Walla in Washington can check in one case of wine for free.

Better yet – anyone with an in-bound boarding pass and a (free) Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan membership can get a complimentary wine tasting at any of about 300 participating wine tasting rooms.

The program, which ran for two months last year, has been renewed for a full year. More details about the Oregon Wine Flies Free program here.

tasteAndToteBoxes

Not to be outdone, Washington Wine Country continues to offer the Taste and Tote program for wine-loving travelers wanting to take wine home on Alaska Airlines flights departing from the Yakima, Pasco and Walla Walla airports. In addition to being able to check in one case of wine for free, Alaska Airlines passengers get complimentary tastings at regional wineries and waived rental car drop off fees.

The end of paper luggage tags?

Baggage, , ,

Courtesy British Airways

A permanent digital luggage tag being tested by British Airways could help make temporary tags obsolete and speed up the check-in process.

The 2.95 billion adhesive luggage tags that airlines now print each year are enough to circle the Earth 39 times, according to the International Air Transport Association. “And they’re not just made of paper, but a silicon derivative that’s very hard to recycle,” said Andrew Price, IATA’s head of baggage services.

British Airway’s digital tag would allow travelers to use the same ID tag on each journey.

Here’s how it works: Using the airline’s mobile app, travelers can check in for a flight and hold their smartphones over a personalized digital tag to program it with flight details and baggage destination information. The tag uses Near Field Communication (NFC,) a short-range low-power wireless technology to transfer the information and long-lasting Kindle-like electronic ink to keep the unique barcode displayed and readable by baggage handlers and machine readers.

At the airport, the traveler can bypass the kiosk that prints tags and leave the electronically tagged luggage at a luggage drop or with a service rep at a counter. When it’s time for a new trip, the information on the tag is reprogrammed.

During the recent month-long test of the digital tags on British Airways flights between Seattle and London, “all bags went where they needed to go,” said Glenn Morgan, the airline’s head of service transformation. He declared that digital tag a success, but said the next step is expanding the type of smartphones that can program them. “Right now only Android and Windows phones support NFC,” said Morgan, and the airline wants to make sure the tags work fully with Apple phones as well.

British Airways may roll out a more sophisticated version of the digital tag for use by passengers in early 2014, but Morgan said the airline hasn’t decided whether it will give the tag to its frequent fliers and/or offer it for sale at a price yet to be determined.

British Airways isn’t the only company working on a digital bag tag.

Qantas Q BAG Tag

In 2011, Australian airline Qantas Airways introduced its QBag Tag.The permanent electronic tag can currently be used only on the airline’s domestic routes (with some exceptions) and relies on radio-frequency identification (RFID) rather than near-field communication to encode flight details onto the tag. Frequent fliers get a Q Bag Tag for free; others can purchase a tag for cash (about US $28) or for 6,500 Qantas points.

In April, IATA put together an industry working group to create standards for a permanent bag tag “that can be used in an interline environment and on any airline, regardless of the issuer of the tag.”

Airbus_-_Bag2go

Airbus Bag2Go

 

And at the Paris Air Show in June, aircraft manufacturing company Airbus showed off a prototype of Bag2Go, a digitally enabled suitcase developed with the IT services and consulting company T-Systems and luggage manufacturer Rimowa. The bag not only incorporates electronic tagging but also a scale to weigh its contents and GPS for real-time tracking.

“Convenience and speed is the key for frequent travelers,” said Richard Warther, president and CEO of Vanguard ID Systems, a Pennsylvania-based company that makes digital luggage tags. Security is built into the design so “electronic bag tags are now as good as the digital passports that are scanned when you get to customs,” said Warther.

Morgan agreed on the safety. “The digital bag tag contains the same information as a paper tag so there are no security risks,” he said.

And while the home-printed bag tag is becoming more popular, IATA’s Price doesn’t think anything will totally replace the thermal adhesive-paper tags travelers have become so familiar with.

“But,” he said, “I expect you may begin to see airlines using the digital tags within a year.”

(My story about digital luggage tags first appeared on CNBC Road Warrior)

Wine flies free on Alaska Airlines

Airline policies, Baggage, , ,

tasteAndToteBoxes

In the past 10 years the wine industry in Oregon and Washington has ripened into big business, with Oregon’s 465 wineries now contributing close to $3 billion to the state’s economy each year and Washington’s 800 wineries pouring more than $8.6 billion into the state’s coffers.

But while visiting wineries for tastings is now a popular tourist activity in many parts of the Pacific Northwest, taking home a case of wine can be costly.

Shipping a case of wine as freight can cost up to $60 via UPS and checking it as baggage on an airplane can cost $25 or more, depending on the weight of the wine and the number of other bags being checked.

“Ironically, we’d see people willing to spend $300 to $500 on a case of wine, yet that extra $25 to put it on the plane was a negative,” said Duane Wollmuth, executive director of Washington’s Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance. “It did stop people from buying the wine at the wineries.”

In an effort to stem the flow of lost wine sales, in 2011 Washington wine growers in the Walla Walla area persuaded Seattle-based Alaska Airlines to extend a program it offers to passengers traveling out of California wine country via Sonoma County Airport (STS).

The airline now waives the charge for checking a case of Washington wine for anyone flying out of three airports in the state’s winery-rich regions (Pasco/Tri-Cities, Walla Walla and Yakima).

Now, instead of just one or two cases of checked wine per week, Alaska Airlines is transporting upward of 30 cases of wine a week per participating airport during peak season, according to airline spokeswoman Bobbie Egan.

And the waived fees make a difference. For the 70 wineries in Walla Walla area alone, “the program represents at least a quarter to a half-million dollars of additional wine sales a month in the peak season,” said Wollmuth.

Washington’s “Taste and Tote” concept, which began as a pilot program,, is being extended. And through Nov. 20, visitors to Oregon’s wineries and tasting rooms can take advantage of the Oregon Wines Fly Free program if they’re flying on Alaska Airlines from any of four Oregon airports (Portland, Eugene, Medford and Redmond).

“Like any other business, we’re always trying to figure out a way to reach more people,” said Charles Humble of the Oregon Wine Board. “Tourism in many parts of our state is now incredibly linked to the wine industry and if people can come here, buy a few bottles of wine and take it home without having to pay for it to be checked, that’s a good incentive.”

But what is the incentive for the airline?

“It’s a good partnership for us,” said Egan,” “It’s a win-win for these areas that produce great wine and it’s a great way for us to promote these wonderful destinations that we serve.”

In addition to advertisements and mentions in social media the airlines gets from the participating wineries and tourism groups, Alaska Airlines asks the wineries in the participating regions to waive the tasting fees for its passengers who show their boarding pass.

That’s a benefit most wineries seem happy to offer. “Many of these folks have traveled to our region specifically to do wine tasting and they are motivated to buy,” said Ron Peck, executive director of Tourism Walla Walla, where wine tourism brings in about $100 million annually to the region.

“I think it’s clever for Alaska Airlines to appeal to the wine traveler,” said Chris Nishiwaki, a Seattle-based restaurant, food and wine writer. “It becomes an incentive for travelers to buy wine at their destinations since baggage fees have become such a nuisance. Furthermore, wine travelers spend over 10 percent more over other travelers. So it’s the ideal audience to cajole.”

(My story about the Alaska Airlines program to fly cases of wine for free first appeared on CNBC Road Warrior)