Remote baggage check-in services cost extra, but come with extras
— -- When it comes to the shifting rules of air travel, it can take a surprisingly long time for word to get around.
It's still not unusual, for example, for an airport security line to be held up by someone claiming they are shocked, appalled or simply mystified to discover that they can no longer take full bottles of water, shampoo, perfume or alcohol through the checkpoint in a carry-on bag.
So 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.
New fees for checking a second bag
On Monday five major airlines officially began charging non-exempt coach passengers an extra fee to check a second bag.
Blaming it on the need to offset rising fuel costs, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United and US Airways now charge $25 to check a second piece of luggage. American Airlines will join that group on May 12. Air Tran will levy a $10 fee for checking a second bag beginning on May 15. And, come July 1, passengers on Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air will also have to pay $25 to check a second bag.
Most airlines will be waiving the new fees for elite members of their frequent flier programs and for passengers who purchase full-fare, business, first class and international tickets. But coach passengers flying on the lowest fares will need to pack light or pony up.
And everyone will have to stand in line while skycaps and ticket agents inform travelers of the new fees, sort out the amount due and process the payments.
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. "Hotel check-out times are usually around noon, but many flights aren't until late in the evening. 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."
McCarran International Airport isn't the only airport where travelers can check bags off-site. 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?
So why pay extra to check in your luggage on a cruise ship, at a convention center or in a hotel lobby now that airlines are also adding extra fees for checked bags? Convenience and peace of mind.
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.
"At the end of the day, someone has to take care of the bags," says Craig Mateer, president of Bags, Inc. "We've been working on this for a long time and I can assure you that it's a lot less stressful if you're sitting by the pool having a drink while we work it out instead of when you're standing in line at the airport worried about if you're going to make your flight."
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.
Travelers: Have you used a remote baggage check-in service? How did it go?
Harriet Baskas writes about travel etiquette for MSNBC.com and is the author of Stuck at the Airport.