Originally wrote @ Sunday, August 06, 2006
By Mackenzie Carpenter, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Every air traveler has a horror story about lost or late luggage, it seems.
When Melissa Gregory, a Pittsburgh native now living in Sydney, Australia, came home for a visit in June, she was hit with a double whammy: One suitcase was lost; the other took two hours to arrive at baggage claim.
"I fly halfway around the world with no trouble, but as soon as I step on Pittsburgh soil, my bags go missing. What gives?" Ms. Gregory wondered in an e-mail from Down Under.
There was a happy ending: A US Airways staff member was knocking on her parents' door at 2 a.m. the next day with her lost bag, but the experience has made her think seriously about shipping her luggage ahead next time.
Besides eliminating the hassle of waiting in line to check and pick up your bags, shipping luggage ahead can be cost-effective, especially for those prone to packing too much: If your checked baggage weighs more than 50 pounds, that'll be an extra $50 at US Airways, for example. If it's more than 70 pounds, it'll cost you $80. If it's more than 100 pounds, forget it, you'll have to ship it anyway.
Jeffrey Boyd, founder of www.luggagefree.com, says his company will ship a 50-pound bag from Boston to Las Vegas for about $120 -- only a little more than what a larger freight carrier, such as DHL or FedEx, would charge
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