The number of bags airlines have lost or misplaced is skyrocketing, according to the Transportation Department, which notes the rates for last September shot up an incredible 93 percent from a year before.
"I think since 9/11 all the regulations and rules from the airlines have been tough on customers," said Jan Paolini, owner of Queen Anne Mail and Dispatch on Upper Queen Anne Hill. In fact, she said, one of four bags is lost or misplaced by the airlines these days.
But Paolini has an alternative: Box up your clothes and belongings, and ship them ahead of time instead of depending on the decreasing chances your luggage will arrive at your destination when you do.
Losing your luggage forever is a hassle, but having it show up late is also a pain, she said. "It could take two days for your luggage to catch up to you."
And on a three-legged trip, that means travelers would have to stay an extra couple of days somewhere while their bags get where they were supposed to be in the first place, Paolini said. "It's happening in Europe, and you're looking at $300-a-night hotels."
Paolini said her business ships packages through both UPS and regular mail, and she even sells the boxes people can use for the shipment to destinations that include hotels. "We have one box that can work for a family of four." The business even has boxes that can be used to ship golf clubs, Paolini added.
But shipping belongings instead of checking luggage requires some planning ahead. For example, she said, shipping boxes to the East Coast by UPS ground takes six days, not counting the pickup day, while shipping them to a West Coast destination takes three days.
Queen Anne Mail and Dispatch charges people for both directions on a trip, and a return mailing label and packing tape are shipped with the boxes, Paolini said. The boxes can be dropped off at a UPS station for return shipment - "or 99 percent of hotels will handle it for you," she added.
The idea hasn't caught on much yet, but Paolini had a customer flying to Hawaii a few weeks ago who was a mother with a newborn and a 3-year-old. "And she just didn't want to deal with it," Paolini said of check-in counters at the airport.
The woman's boxes were shipped to Hawaii with the U.S. Postal Service as priority mail, but Paolini recommends UPS for domestic shipments because the company has liability insurance. Plus, travelers can take the UPS tracking numbers with them, she added.
Paolini sees a real need for her service for holiday travelers - especially those with children. "A lot of people in the neighborhood are young couples with parents back east or in the Midwest," she said. And it will be a lot easier if they ship strollers and other baby supplies rather than check them at the airline counter, Paolini believes.
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