Business travelers hop off luggage carousel, ship bags

Matt Nager | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Southwest Airlines employee prepares to load bags onto a plane at Love Field Airport in Dallas, Texas.

In 2017, the service has already shipped around 200,000 bags and counting, Ewart said. And he can see the company hitting 1 million bags within the next few years.

“It’s a great early adopter market because when a student uses [the service] for college, whenever they travel for business or vacation in the future, they’ll use it again,” he said.

The vast majority of customers who use Sendmybag.com use it again within six months, and 42 percent of orders placed this year so far have been by repeat customers, Ewart said.

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In terms of cost, sending one bag through the site is likely more expensive than checking that bag with an airline. Shipping becomes the cheaper option when you have multiple bags you need to travel with. All prices depend on the travel distance and the number, weight and shape of the bags. Here is some cost data from Sendmybags.com for popular air routes:

• From California to New York in five to six business days: $79 if under 44 pounds, $90 if between 40 and 60 pounds.
• From New York to London in two to three days: $99 under 33 pounds, $169 between 33 and 66 pounds.
• From Washington, D.C. to Toronto in one to two days: $79 under 33 pounds, $115 between 33 and 66 pounds.

The company has seen a big uptick in business users because “time-saving points are particularly important for them,” according to Ewart. Business travelers can save time by blowing through baggage check, or customs for international flights, and not having to wait around for their luggage at the baggage carousels, which 43 percent of travelers said was the worst part of their trip, according to the company’s survey of 2,000 independent travelers.