American Offers Baggage Delivery Service, for a Fee

American Airlines is offering a new service to have passengers’ bags delivered to their final destinations, for a fee.

According to American Airlines, it is the first U.S. airline to team up with BAGS VIP Luggage Delivery to offer the service.

Beginning Monday, August 6, American Airlines customers who purchase the new Baggage Delivery Service can bypass the airport baggage claim upon arrival and have their bags delivered to their office, home, hotel or wherever else their final destination may be.

American Airlines expects to have a total of 195 Boeing 737-800s in its single-aisle fleet by the end of 2012. Between 2009 and July 2010 the airline ordered 119 of the type

American’s Baggage Delivery Service, enabled by BAGS VIP Luggage Delivery, is available seven days a week, including holidays, at more than 200 U.S. domestic airports and select international U.S. Customs and Border Protection Pre-Clearance cities.

The international cities are Nassau and Freeport in the Bahamas; Aruba; Dublin in Ireland; and Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver in Canada.

However, the service is not available in Las Vegas, at San Juan in Puerto Rico, or at any destination in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Booking the new Baggage Delivery Service is a three-step process:

● Upon booking their flight on AA.com – or up to two hours prior to departure by clicking on ‘View Itinerary’ – customers have the option to buy this service.  The cost is $29.95 for one bag, $39.95 for two bags and $49.95 for three to 10 bags;

● When customers arrive at the airport, a special indicator will be printed on their bag tags to help BAGS VIP Luggage Delivery representatives correctly identify luggage and quickly get it to its final delivery destination; and

An American Airlines Boeing 737-800 takes off at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the biggest hub for American and its sister regional airline American Eagle

● Customers can then bypass the baggage claim at their destination airport and head to their hotel, home or wherever their travel may take them.  For delivery locations within 40 miles from the airport, their bags will arrive within one to four hours at the destination of choice.

“We think this service will be especially valuable to families traveling with children as well as our business travelers who need to go straight to a meeting or into the office,” says David Vance, American Airlines’ managing director – customer operations planning.

The price for Baggage Delivery Service is in addition to any applicable bag fees that need to be paid to American Airlines at the airport during the time of check-in.

For American customers who need their bags delivered between 41 and 100 miles from the airport, there will be an additional $1 per mile charge and an estimated delivery time between four and six hours instead of one to four hours.

For more information about the new Baggage Delivery Service, visit www.AA.com/BagDelivery.