Juan Foote

I have some business in LA that I have to fly out for in a month. Booked flights and come to find that the airline does not allow a free carry on or checked bag. They allow a purse and/or a laptop bag, and that's it. The fees for a carry on or checked bag are $40 and $50 respectively. For the two of us the price for the luggage will approach the cost of one of the round trip tickets. The trip is a two day turnaround, so I think we can make it work with one bag.

I was wondering if anyone who travels often knows:
Can you send a package for yourself to the hotel ahead of time and have them hold it?
I am honestly considering just packing a box with a change of clothes for each of us, some toiletries and shipping them. I can ship them back before we leave and basically have nothing but ourselves to board the plane.

indyfabz

The answer would seem to be hotel-specific.

If the hotel is near the city's post office that accepts General Delivery mail, you could go that shipping route.

BTW...What airline is this? Want to know who to avoid.

roadfix

I don't know if you'd be saving much money, if any, by shipping...

Juan Foote

A Flat Rate box is $15.

TBH it would probably even be cheaper to just stop somewhere when we land and buy an outfit for the meeting and just leave it. Something Old Navy would work fine.

Juan Foote

Spirit. It was booked by the owner of the company and we were more than disappointed to find that they didn't go ahead and pay for the luggage up front. At the time of booking it was considerably cheaper. The moment they hit the "buy" button that option was over. I honestly wouldn't have known till we got to the airport if it hadn't been by the advice of a friend who travels often. It says NOTHING anywhere on the confirmation details about this.

/grumble

I will call the hotel this evening and see what their thoughts on it are, and/or may check to see if there is a mail center or post nearby. I know from tour blogs that you can send packages ahead to the local post office to be held for you...can't recall what the service is called.

indyfabz

It's called General Delivery. When I rode across the country 20 years ago I had someone mail me film to predetermined towns. Thing is that if you are in a city with multiple post offices I believe only one accepts general delivery mail. But I could be wrong.

https://faq.usps.com/s/article/What-is-General-Delivery

Or you could wear two sets of clothes.

Juan Foote

In a city the size of LA that could be problematic.

I actually halfway considered wearing two sets of clothes, but considering the grief I already put up with being an amputee with TSA figured it may not play out well.

StupidlyBrave 

Your underwear has two sides, no?

DiabloScott

That cost approaches the value of my entire wardrobe.

skidder

I usually fly Southwest if possible; no baggage fee for one bag. I think Spirit Airlines only flies into/out of L.A. INternational. Are you staying near the airport or somewhere else? If somewhere else, look on Google maps and see what's around your hotel, maybe a retail store (Target, etc) and go into those when you arrive for casual clothes and toiletries. Buying them at your location can be cheaper, and lots of times I'll just leave them when I check out of the hotel (might keep an extra shirt or two and wear it onto the plane, maybe some toothpaste and soap, too). That way I don't have to pay any baggage fees.

CliffordK

What is the restriction of laptop bags?

There are quite a few laptop bags that are laptop sized, and about 8" thick. Big enough to toss in a change of clothes and toiletries, if you don't go overboard.

CliffordK

Regular sized jet, or Alaskan Puddle Jumper?

Big or small company?

Inform the airline that your company is going to blacklist them unless they give you one standard sized carry-on per ticket.

Also inform the company that you are reporting them to the Better Business Bureau for deceptive marketing practices.

I'm not sure how to reach the maximum internet followers. I fear BikeForums FOO isn't the way to reach the maximum number of eyes.

Perhaps you could get a company like Washington Post or the New York Times interested.

noisebeam

That is what I do. Fits under the seat in front of me. No other luggage.

I-Like-To-Bike

Doesn't the company reimburse you for travel expenses? Baggage fees are a cost of travel by air, just like hotel fees and per diem for food. The company is trying to save money by booking on Spirit, which is infamous for nickel and dining its customers every way they can. The company will save even more money if you dress or act like a hobo in order to avoid baggage fees.

I-Like-To-Bike

Why I am sure the Washington Post and NYT will be shocked, shocked to be informed that airlines have baggage fees and are not always upfront with providing their customers the fee schedule. They might also be horrified to learn that there is a cost for getting a low fare ticket on cheapskate airlines like Spirit Airlines.

Juan Foote

Where I appreciate your sarcasm and wit.....I don't travel by plane much at all. Particularly since having my amputation they treat me like my leg is made of cocaine with an extra bomb storage. It's effing ridiculous. Aside from that, I had no control over who the boss booked with....and no, I don't get reimbursed for this one.

TakingMyTime

Honestly, what was your boss thinking sending you across country on business and expecting you to wear the clothes on your back for the duration of the trip? You show up for various meetings wearing the same clothes day after day? That is not a very good reflection on your company. I would approach him or your HR dept and let them know there needs to be some changes.

Juan Foote

Lol, HR Dept....haha, demand changes. I like the cut of your sail buddy.

leob1

The wife and I used them for vacation once, NEVER again. Unless there is no other choice. Remember Peoples Express? At least they where upfront about what you didn't get with the fare.

Juan Foote

Yup, I flew them once long ago to Vegas IIRC. It was an experience between the goats, chickens, pigs, Mongolian pilots already wearing parachutes and that guy Indy sitting behind us. Thankfully he found an inflatable raft and everything came out ok.

terrymorse 

The UPS Store has a luggage shipping service:

Pack and Ship Luggage

I use one of their small boxes when credit card bike touring. I'll ship the box to my hotel, and place a return ship label inside the box.

I-Like-To-Bike

Does your HR department reimburse you for legitimate travel expenses or not? Do they pay for the hotel and a reasonable reimbursement for meals? How about rental cars or whatever you need to use for transportation to and from the airport in order to conduct business?

If not, you work for a real crappy organization that won't pay the cost of doing business and treats its employees like dung and you should seek employment elsewhere if at all possible.

Juan Foote

I love when people make blanket judgements with no other information.

Move along, these aren't the droids you are looking for.

#minorinconvenience

CliffordK

You haven't been very forthcoming with information.

If it is a large company, then they may be able to leverage their buying power.

If it is a small company, then there isn't much to leverage. Small sole proprietorship?

It sounds like this airline is counting on snagging customers once... they learn their lesson, and never return. Not a good way to run a business, and they'll vanish within a few years, or have to undercut their own prices until they can't even buy fuel (or spare parts )

They may get a few same-day commuters (although some companies also charge premium prices if there isn't a layover).

If it was me, I'd explore options to not give the company a penny more than absolutely necessary (including shipping luggage).

And, yes, as mentioned, there may be ways to get the story out. Most big papers do have travel sections. Consumer Reports may rank airlines. And, any or all forums you feel are relevant. An AP article could get widespread distribution.

To me, hidden costs that pop up after you click "BUY" which are not disclosed, or easy to find, and are not typical of the industry is FRAUD, and should be treated as such.

As mentioned, the Better Business Bureau does collect and publish complaints.

There are also companies like YELP that do ranking. Hmmm.. lots of ratings on Yelp. Some like them, but 1 1/2 stars (with a minimum of 1 star) doesn't give one a lot of confidence.

Reading the Yelp Reviews... some state that even with added fees, prices are low. Others suggest that pre-selecting seats (for a fee) is a benefit to prevent getting bumped (or separated if you are traveling together).

DiabloScott

The problem is with JF's employer being too cheap to pay for legitimate luggage charges on a business trip for which they booked the cheapest carrier. That's really a standard expense report item that they should just expect.