AirPortr and British Airways Launch Bag-Check Anywhere in London
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APEX Insight: AirPortr and British Airways are providing passengers with a bag-check service that can be ordered from anywhere in London, so they can enjoy some last-minute sightseeing hours before their flights, luggage-free.
It’s your last day in London. You think you can squeeze in Buckingham Palace and Big Ben before heading to the airport, but the thought of lugging your large suitcase into the Tube and hauling it through the street makes you settle for spending the morning in the hotel lobby.
AirPortr, a London-based startup, has launched a service that could make that large suitcase disappear – temporarily – while you catch the Changing of the Guard and hear Big Ben bong on the hour, enabling you to sightsee and breeze through airport security luggage-free. The premium service is offered in partnership with British Airways, on all non-UK domestic flights departing from Heathrow, Gatwick or London City airports. When BA passengers check in online (up to 24 hours before their flights), they have the option to order a bag-check, from their home, hotel or office in London, up to seven hours before departure. The next time they see their suitcase will be on the baggage carousel at their destination.
“The service is a game changer in international travel.” €” Randel Darby, AirPortr
“The service is a game changer in international travel,” said Randel Darby, CEO, AirPortr. “The one element of air travel that remained stuck in the 20th century was luggage and how to make the process more seamless. That is the problem we have sought to address.”
All bags are X-rayed, tagged, sealed and GPS-tracked with a unique number to ensure safe and secure delivery. E-mail and text message updates are sent to passengers throughout the journey. Similar services have been introduced by other airlines and airports, but Paul Mewett, executive vice-president, Portr Ltd., says, for a fully integrated experience where a passenger can book a flight and reserve bag pickup in the click of a button, “This is the first of its kind.”
“Demand for air travel is increasing every year. Resources don’t seem to be keeping up with it and congestion at airports to queue and check bags continues to be on the rise,” says Mewett. “To date, the industry has responded with such things as home-printed bag tags, self-service bag drops, electronic bag tags. When you consider those solutions they’re good in themselves, but they continue to keep the customer and the bag together until they reach the airport.”
AirPortr‘s bag check-in service can be ordered online through British Airways’ or AirPortr’s websites as of October 25 for travel on October 26.