WAAYYY back in May, 2007 - FMV had this thought:
FMV considers [the idea of] carriers partnering with the baggage shippers to provide more customer options and deflect complaints about baggage fees.
Well - it's come true courtesy of United, who introduces their "Door-to-Door Baggage" Program:
Stop lugging your luggage around. Instead, send it ahead with Door-to-Door Baggage. Purchase this service at united.com, and FedEx will pick up your baggage from your home or office and ship it directly to your destination. Or if you prefer, you can drop off your baggage at a FedEx Office location or any other FedEx authorized shipping center.
The unique feature about this program is that United has tied FedEx into their passengers' itineraries. Once you sign in to your United.com account and press the "Door to Door Baggage" link - the site automatically starts the FedEx process using the dates and cities of your itinerary.
The kicker is the boastful tagline:
United is the first airline to save you time and money with this simple and convenient service.
Save you money?!! How much do they charge for this?? Starting at $149 !! (vs. $15 for a first bag fee??). Hey, thanks for the money savings United !
Hence, this program isn't really about cash savings. It's about time savings. This is for the guy that kind of wanted to send his golf clubs ahead to avoid the hassle of checked bags. He also didn't trust the airine not to lose his clubs. The same logic could hold for business people who don't want to shlep business materials and simply say "eh, I'll just ship it and expense it".
However, the real winner here is FedEx, who picks up some highly qualified leads over its competitors. If UA can skim some of that value, and spin it as a positive for their customers, good for them. It's time to fly.
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