Airportr Looks to Alleviate the Bag-Drag
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APEX Insight: Airportr is a concierge service that handles your luggage from point of departure to destination, so you can travel bag-free. The company is working in partnership with British Airways at London City Airport to provide what they call “luggage freedom.” Says Chris Nash, British Airways’ Customer Experience manager: “Many business travelers choose to fly with us into London City… They’ve told us their priority when they land is to head straight to the office, so we’ve launched this service with Airportr to enable them to do just that.”
Have you ever landed early at a work or holiday destination and wanted to start your day before heading to the hotel? Have you ever had a long day of out-of-office meetings followed by a trip directly to the airport and wished, “If only you didn’t have to lug your bags around?” Odds are if you’re reading this, you have.
Airportr is a new service available in the London area that offers busy folk like you the option to send your luggage independently to an airport terminal or accommodations, so you can get on with what you need to do – bag-free.
“On your day of departure we can collect your bags from home or hotel and deliver them to the airport so you don’t have to lug them around with you as you work,” explains Chris Walsh, co-founder and head of Brand Marketing at Portr Limited. “For leisure travelers – for example those who arrive early and the hotel is not ready for check-in – we will deliver your bags to the hotel for you, so you can start enjoying your vacation bag-free.”
While sharing a workspace two years ago, Walsh and Airportr’s two other co-founders discovered that they all had similar frustrations around luggage. Together, they hatched the Airportr plan to enable what they call “luggage freedom.”
Now passengers heading to Gatwick, London City Airport and most recently Heathrow (this service just launched December 14), can arrange a bag “concierge” pickup on their day of travel. A qualified driver will collect the bag, place a barcoded tamper seal on it and scan it into a handheld device so the owner can track its movements. Then when the traveler arrives at the airport, he or she simply collects the bag from the Airportr staff and checks in normally.
Folks visiting or returning to London will meet Airportr staff at the terminal and hand over bags, which are then sealed, scanned and delivered home or to any city location within a few hours.
“Departing passengers must present themselves and their ID to our concierge staff at the terminal in order to reclaim their bag for check-in,” says Walsh. “For delivery in London there must be someone present to accept delivery. The customer receives notifications as their bag is collected en route and when it has been delivered at their chosen address.”
“[Business travelers] told us their priority when they land is to head straight to the office… Airportr [enables] them to do just that without worrying about any luggage they’ve checked in.” – Chris Nash, British Airways
British Airways has been working with Airportr on a special program at London City Airport. Chris Nash, British Airways’ Customer Experience manager at London City Airport, says early trials have yielded positive feedback.
“Many business travelers choose to fly with us into London City… They’ve told us their priority when they land is to head straight to the office, so we’ve launched this service with Airportr to enable them to do just that without worrying about any luggage they’ve checked in,” says Nash. “Having successfully tested “Carousel Collection,” it’s a natural step for us to roll the service out to all our UK routes that fly into London City.”
Airportr’s booking site is mobile responsive for people on-the-go. The company claims to have delivered thousands of bags with a 100 percent on-time success rate, and is eyeing opportunities further abroad.