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 The companies offer a few different stripes of service -- some act like cargo shippers, where your bags may take a different flight than you do, or may even travel by ground -- while others act more like a luggage valet that picks up your bags, gets them checked in to your flight, and then collects them from the baggage carousel at your destination airport and delivers them to your hotel or other designated location.
The cargo-type services often have limitations not unlike some shipping companies -- they need about three days' advance booking, make pickups on weekdays only, and charge by weight and dimensions. A few of these companies include Luggage Concierge, Luggage Free, Sports Express and Luggage Forward.
It's not necessarily cheap -- for a roundtrip for two medium-sized bags (up to 55 pounds and 28H x 22W x 12D), I was quoted $328.46 roundtrip from New Jersey to California by Luggage Concierge -- but prices are reasonable given the service. Luggage Free offers this easy-to-scan price chart.
The "luggage valet" type of service may offer more amenities, sometimes including issuing boarding passes when they some to your home or hotel to pick up your bags. Examples include BaggageDirect and BAGS. BaggageDirect charges $30 per person for each "leg" of baggage handling -- such as $30 from your home to the airport, then another $30 from the destination airport to your hotel for a total of $60 for a one-way trip. Additional passengers are billed at 50 percent off, and discounts are available for larger groups.
The services are most useful and economical when shipping specialty items like skis, baby strollers, bicycles, golf clubs, surfboards and the like; most airlines charge from $25 - $100 and more each way for many of these items anyway, and you have to haul them around yourself.
Of course, you can always pack lighter; see our Packing Tips for tactics and strategies.
 Luggage That Beats Luggage Restrictions
These are still early days in the New Normal, but you can be sure that luggage manufacturers are already working on modifications that will protect laptops, prevent liquid spills and generally make checking your bags less risky. Check out Magellan's "solution to staying organized and making airport inspections painless" for the first wave of ideas and products on the market.
 Looking and Feeling Good
I am no expert on moisturizers, cosmetics or gels of any stripe, so I am more than happy to stand down on the topic and hand over the bully pulpit to folks who do: check out these Liquid-Free Beauty Tips for the Air Traveler from CareFair.com.
To stay fresh in flight, I'm going with some lozenges; don't be surprised if you see nostalgic Certs commercials on your television soon.
The New Normal Means Change
I would expect the current restrictions to ease up some as officials reconsider the risk of individual items over time, as was the case with non-prescription medicines, baby formula and even solid lipstick in the first few days of the New Normal. There is one thing you can rely on in the coming weeks -- the New Normal will change, shift and evolve with each passing week; we will let you know about the most significant changes if and when they come in over the transom.
To discuss this and other Traveler's Ed articles, visit the Traveler's
Ed Message Board.
Go Anyway,
Ed Hewitt
TravelersEd@aol.com
Features Editor
The Independent Traveler
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