Because the lines at airports are getting longer and luggage seems to be getting lost more often, there are new companies that have sprung up for the sole purpose of shipping people’s luggage for them. If you are taking a ski or golf vacation, imagine not having to deal with all that extra baggage.  Just show up at the airport and board the plane.

When you consider the horrible debacle at Heathrow recently, where luggage was piled up for days and people had to deal with having no luggage for their complete vacation, paying extra to assure that your luggage will be there for you may be worth the extra cost.

For some time now, many seasoned travelers have used Fedex, DHL or other such companies to ship their clothing ahead to avoid all the hassles at the airport.  They arrive at their destination with their luggage waiting for them. But this is an expensive proposition and not really what these companies are set up to do. The new companies only deal with shipping luggage and equipment such as golf clubs, skiis, or bikes.

A few of these companies are:  Luggage Free, Luggage Forward and The Luggage Club.  These companies offer pick up service from your home or office and delivery right to your hotel or destination.  Pricing runs about $6 to $7 per pound, but each company has different ways to calculate pricing and some have on-line systems that you can use to keep track of your baggage.

If you can afford it, the convenience of shipping your luggage and/or equipment ahead of time seems like a great idea.